Sister Who Lived: Goblet of Fire
by sweethearts together
Summary: If Grace Potter thought things might ever settle down at Hogwarts, she was terribly wrong. All of a sudden her world is turned upside down in a whirlwind of danger, friendship, tears and love. Grace never thought life could be this hard but what happens at the end of the term will change her forever. Fourth in my Sister Who Lived series!
1. Sway Sway Baby

**Here it is! The fourth instalment of Sister Who Lived. For those who have been reading the series welcome back and thank you for reading. For others welcome to the series. It may not be essential to read the other three stories in the series but all of the OCs and mentions of previous plot will make a lot more sense if you do. **

**Also before you go on, I'm going to post a chapter of this every Friday. I've already got a bit of a headstart on the other chapters so hopefully I'll never be more than a week in updating. For people who haven't read my stories before, I'd just like to say that I am in my first year of college, I have a job and social life and unfortunately, even if my best friend disagrees, they are always my first priority. **

**Thank you and enjoy!**

Chapter One- Sway Sway Baby

Grace Potter rolled over in her tiny, hard bed in the Dursleys house, desperately trying to deny the fact that it was morning. She wished she could just stay in bed forever, no matter how uncomfortable it was, just to avoid her uncle, aunt and cousin. Unfortunately Aunt Petunia would be at her door in less than an hour to demand she get up and start her chores.

Finally accepting her fate, she sat up in bed, only to whack her head against the low lying shelf directly above her. Grace groaned and grappled around in the dark for the switch to her lamp. Rubbing her head, she glared at the offending wood. After fourteen years you would have thought she would get used to sleeping in the cramped laundry but she still managed to hurt her head most mornings.

Grace sighed and wondered where in the world Fred and George were. George had told her that she would be coming to their house over the summer and yet there had been barely any word for over a month. Now there was only two weeks left of summer and she was getting anxious. They didn't expect her to stay here at this hell hole for their whole vacation. Did they?

In all honesty the summer hadn't been as bad as it could have been. As soon as they were off the train, Grace and her younger brother Harry had told Uncle Vernon all about their new-found godfathers. It was only last year that they found out they had godparents. Grace's godfather, Remus Lupin was their old Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher and a werewolf. Harry's was wrongly accused criminal, Sirius Black. Grace wasn't entirely sure which godfather their aunt and uncle were more afraid of. It didn't matter to her though; either way she still had her trunk full of school books and quills and clothes and every other thing she normally had to live without.

Glancing over at the digital clock hanging lopsidedly above her bed, Grace realised she still had half an hour until Aunt Petunia called for breakfast. She made her decision quickly and tugged the parchment and quill out of her trunk. Leaning on her History of Magic textbook to write and delicately balancing the pot of ink between her feet she began to write.

_Fred and George,_

_It has been a whole two weeks since I received a letter from you. Hannah, Lara, Trina, Miranda, Ciara and Jesse have all written and some of them don't own owls. Hell, even Lee wrote me about how great the Quidditch World Cup will be! What I'm trying to say is that I miss my favourite identical boys and where the bloody hell are you?_

_I swear you told me Harry and I could come and stay over the holidays, George. In fact, you more or less ordered us to come. Yet, there's only two weeks left and I have had no mention of such a stay. I'm going crazy here. I need your mother's food. You know Dudley's school thinks he's getting fat (which he already was) so Aunt Petunia is putting us all on a diet? All I've had to live off is the leftovers of Harry's birthday cake that your mum sent. I'm getting desperate here boys!_

_Please, please, please tell me what's going on. I was actually looking forward to the Quidditch World Cup. And to see your gorgeous faces. _

_Love always, _

_Grace Potter_

Satisfied that she had reprimanded the twins enough, Grace folded the parchment and sealed it, writing only their names on the front. Hedwig would know where to go. She threw on a dress, tossing her pyjamas to the side and headed out her door, tiptoeing over to Harry's room to ask permission to use Hedwig.

**Please review with any comments, questions or advice. **


	2. Young Volcanoes

**What's this? I'm actually sticking to a schedule. You should all be proud. **

**I forgot a disclaimer last chapter but in no way, shape or form do I own Harry Potter. I only own Grace, my OCs and some parts of the plot. **

Chapter Two- Young Volcanoes

It was a few days later that Grace received a reply to her letter. She had sent the letter with Hedwig that morning when the owl went hunting but so far no word had come back. Not until they were sitting at breakfast eating their grapefruit quarters in silence. Grace was busy studying the shadows under Harry's eyes when the doorbell rang.

Uncle Vernon heaved himself out of his chair and waddled down the hall. Grace chewed on her grapefruit and dreamt of the cinnamon waffles and fluffy pancakes topped with bacon that were available at the Burrow, sighing when Dudley stole the rest of his father's grapefruit. Grace could hear talking at the door, someone laughing and Uncle Vernon answering them rudely. The front door closed with a snap. Aunt Petunia and Grace peered curiously at the door, but they didn't have to wait long. Uncle Vernon was back and looked murderous.

"You," he barked at Harry, reminding Grace of an ugly bulldog. "In the living room. Now."

Harry turned to look at her bewildered and followed Uncle Vernon into the next room. Grace didn't wait for her own invitation to trail after them, slipping into the room just as Uncle Vernon slammed the door behind them.

"So," he said, marching over to the fireplace and scrutinizing them like they were a pair of criminals. "So"

As usual Harry was the polite one out of the two siblings and settled for a confused look while Grace raised her eyebrows at her uncle and said, "so what?"

Uncle Vernon turned to glare at her. Braver men might have shaken under that look but Grace just stared back at him, amused. Finally he turned away from her to address the both of them, brandishing a piece of purple writing paper.

"This just arrived."

"And? Did someone write to you about your awful niece and nephew?"

Uncle Vernon levelled another glare at her then looked at the letter and began to read it out loud:

_Dear Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, We have never been introduced, but I am sure you have heard a great deal from Harry about my son Ron or his brothers, Fred and George from Grace._

_As Harry might have told you, the final of the Quidditch World Cup takes place this Monday night, and my husband, Arthur, has just managed to get prime tickets through his connections at the Department of Magical Games and Sports_

_I do hope you will allow us to take Grace and Harry to the match, as this really is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity; Britain hasn't hosted the cup for thirty years, and tickets are extremely hard to come by. We would of course be glad to have Grace and Harry stay for the remainder of the summer holidays, and to see them safely onto the train back to school._

_It would be best for Harry to send us your answer as quickly as possible in the normal way, because the Muggle postman has never delivered to our house, and I am not sure he even knows where it is._

_Hoping to see Grace and Harry soon, Yours sincerely, Molly Weasley _

_P.S. I do hope we've put enough stamps on._

When he had finished reading, Uncle Vernon reached into his breast pocket.

"Look at this," he growled.

He held up the envelope that the letter had come in. It was covered in stamps from corner to corner, leaving only a square inch on the front to include the address. Grace fought back laughter with a cough.

"She did put enough stamps on then," Harry said casually.

Grace burst out laughing, missing Uncle Vernon's angry comment about the postman.

"Oh lighten up, would you? Mrs Weasley doesn't know any better. It's not like she's ever used Muggle post before."

Uncle Vernon's moustache twitched. Grace could feel her brother turning to glare at her for ruining their chances of going to the world cup and shrank back. What did everyone have against her this morning? Perhaps it was just best for her to be quiet.

Eventually Harry broke the silence, "So can we go then?"

Uncle Vernon's whole face twitched this time. Grace could tell what was causing him such pain. He had to choose between letting them go to the cup and to the Weasleys, making them incredibly happy, something he actively fought against and keeping them here in misery for the rest of the holidays, leaving Grace to cause more havoc in his perfect house.

"Who is this women?" he asked in disdain, to distract himself from thinking about it further.

"You've seen her," Harry explained. "She my friend Ron and Grace's friends Fred and George's mother. He was meeting him off the school train at the end of last term."

Uncle Vernon screwed up his face, like he was recalling an unpleasant taste.

"Dumpy sort of women?" he scowled finally. "Load of children with red hair."

Grace opened her mouth to give him a retort about his own 'dumpy' son when Harry gave her a sharp look and she shut her mouth. Clearly that look meant 'don't blow this for us.' When neither of them replied Uncle Vernon studied the letter again.

"Quidditch," he muttered. "Quidditch- what is this rubbish?"

Grace winced. She could just imagine her friends' reactions to that question.

"It's a sport," she answered. "Bit like basketball- played on brooms-"

"All right, all right!" Uncle Vernon interrupted loudly before she could go on to describe the magical sport. She rolled her eyes at the ceiling in a silent prayer. "What does she mean, 'the normal way'?"

Grace huffed out her breath. She wondered how stupid her uncle could get.

"Normal for us," Harry told him before adding on quickly, "you know, owl post. That's what's normal for wizards."

Uncle Vernon looked at Harry the way he usually saved for Grace when she was being particularly rude. He shook with anger and stared out the window to check for eavesdroppers in his paranoia.

"How many times do I have to tell you not to mention that unnaturalness under my roof?" Uncle Vernon hissed, going red in the face. "You stand there, in the clothes Petunia and I have put on your ungrateful back-"

Grace turned away the man, used to hearing the same speech every time she did something wrong when Harry retorted.

"Only after Dudley finished with them," he said coldly. Grace gaped in surprise, looking at her uncle for his reaction.

"I will not be spoken to like that!" Uncle Vernon said, still shaking. It was almost pitiful how much he let his temper control him. And over such small things too.

Grace grinned wickedly and flicked the hair out of her face, locking her eyes with her uncles as she spoke, "Harry, let it go. We won't be able to see the world cup. Let's just go upstairs and write to Remus and Sirius. You know- our werewolf and criminal godfathers."

Grace let the words sink in. The grin grew on her face. She could feel Harry's gaze on her, knew he was trying not to smile. Uncle Vernon's fear would win over his hatred of Harry and Grace's happiness this time. There was no doubt about it. Her uncle's red face was steadily going purple but she could see it in his eyes. That worry that if he didn't let them go then a werewolf would turn up at their front door to rip them to pieces.

"You're- you're writing to them, are you?" his voice shook as he spoke.

"Well- yeah," Harry answered casually, exchanging glances with Grace. They both knew how this would end and, even if he was hiding it from Uncle Vernon, Grace could see the glee in his eyes. "It's been a while since he heard from me, and, you know if he doesn't he might think something's wrong."

At the look on Uncle Vernon's face, Grace had to choke back another laugh, making Harry pound her on her back. She had only just gained her breath back in time to hear Uncle Vernon's next words.

"Well, all right then. You can go to this ruddy . . . this stupid . . . this World Cup thing. You write and tell these- these Weasleys they're to pick you up, mind. I haven't got time to go dropping you off all over the country. And you can spend the rest of the summer there. And you can tell your- both of your godfathers . . . tell them . . . tell them you're going."

"Splendid!" Grace said brightly. She could see a vein in her uncle's forehead threatening to pop at her grin but knew he couldn't take back his word now.

Grace and Harry turned and walked out of the living room, with Grace practically bouncing. As soon as they were out the door, they ran straight into Dudley, who had been eavesdropping on the conversation in the hopes one of them would get in trouble. At the happiness evident on their faces, he blinked and stepped back.

"That was an excellent breakfast, wasn't it?" Harry remarked. "I feel really full, don't you?"

Grace burst out laughing at how taken aback Dudley looked. She skipped at the stairs after Harry, skidding into his room just as small, feathery object collided with the side of his head.

Closing the door behind them, Grace took in the scene. Hedwig was back, sitting in her cage and clicking her beck in disapproval. Squinting towards the ceiling she realized the object that had hit Harry was actually a tiny owl, zooming around the room at the speed of light. It had dropped two envelopes at Harry's feet, which he picked up and handed one to Grace. Hastily she tore it open, recognizing George's handwriting.

_Gracie, calm down woman. You won't have to wait long to see our gorgeous faces because DAD GOT THE TICKETS! Told you it would happen. Monday night- Ireland vs Bulgaria. You better be excited._

Grace rolled her eyes.

_Anyway we miss you too. Mum sent a letter to the Muggles about the Cup so we'll come and pick you up on Sunday night. No matter what they say. Reckon we should prank your whale of a cousin? See you soon, Fred and George. We'll get the cakes ready for you. _

Grace grinned. She watched as Harry struggled to control the miniature owl, who was still getting cold looks from Hedwig, and wrote out his reply to Ron on a fresh piece of paper.

"Hang on," she said, stepping forward to take the quill from him just as he finished. She scribbled down a quick message to the twins- telling them she couldn't wait and that the prank was a fantastic idea- before gently holding down the owl so Harry could attach the parchment to its leg. The second the note was secure and Grace let it go, the owl was out the window again, zooming out of sight.

"Feeling up to a long journey?" he asked, turning to Hedwig. She hooted proudly in response. Grace thought she was still annoyed at Harry for letting the enthusiastic owl invade her space. "Can you take this to Sirius for me? Hang on . . . I just want to finish it."

Grace walked over and collapsed on his bed while he scribbled a postscript on a previous letter lying on his desk.

"I'll be at Ron's when you get back, all right?" Harry told her when he had finished. Grace eyed him from where she lay.

"You know talking to animals is a sign of craziness," Grace commented. Harry rolled his eyes at her, watching Hedwig fly away. "You weren't kidding when you said you had a letter to Sirius then."

"Nah," he shook his head, crawling on his knees and digging around under his bed. "I started a letter to him earlier . . . about my scar hurting this morning."

"Your scar hurt?" Grace repeated, immediately sitting up. "What do you mean? Why?"

"_Grace_," Harry sighed. He came out from under the bed with a cardboard box in his hands. "It's fine. Don't worry about it. Want some cake?"

Frowning at his change of subject, she slipped off the bed and joined him to eat cake on the floor. It wasn't long before she was grinning again. What with the beautiful weather, cake with her brother, their upcoming stay at the Weasleys and the Quidditch World Cup, how couldn't she be happy?

Hphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphp

For the rest of the day, once she had her fill of cake, Grace packed her trunk with everything she needed. She left her room briefly at dinner and lunch for small servings of salad then more grapefruit in the morning. The photos were unstuck from her walls and her clothes were folded neatly among her school books. The locket that Remus had given her last year hung securely around her neck.

Grace knew that the atmosphere was tense on Sunday evening but she didn't really care, skipping around the house happily. Dudley kept shooting her terrified looks. She was aware that Uncle Vernon had told Harry that the Weasleys should dress properly but it didn't really matter to her. They could be wearing rags and it wouldn't matter. Still, she hoped that Uncle Vernon wouldn't be rude to them. Mr Weasley didn't deserve that.

After compulsively pacing around the house, trying to use all the energy that she was building up, Grace settled in the living room at four-thirty with a copy of _Witch Weekly_. At a quarter to five Harry came down to wait with her. By five there was still no appearance by the Weasleys. She barely raised her eyes from the magazine as Uncle Vernon went to check the street with Aunt Petunia and Harry trailing after him.

Another ten minutes . . . fifteen minutes . . . Grace could hear her aunt and uncle whispering tersely from across the room . . . thirty minutes . . . there was a loud bang and Uncle Vernon let out a strangled yell.

It came from the boarded up fireplace in the centre of one wall. Grace recognized the sound of a Floo powder entrance and winced. They would be trapped in the fireplace now, unless someone could get the boarding off. Dudley sprinted out of the room in terror as loud scrapings and bangings came from behind it. Grace jumped up and stepped forward hesitantly.

"What is it?" Aunt Petunia whispered, terrified, from where she had backed into a corner.

"It's- um-" Grace started, not entirely sure how to explain. She wasn't exactly sure whether to laugh or feel bad for the Weasleys. She was saved from answering when the Weasleys started to speak and Harry hurried into the room.

"Ouch! Fred, no- go back, go back, there's been some kind of mistake- tell George not to- OUCH! George, no, there's no room, go back quickly and tell Ron."

"Maybe Harry can hear us, dad, maybe he'll be able to let us out-"

The banging started again as the Weasleys hammered their fists against the boards behind the electric fire. Grace clapped a hand to her mouth to stop the giggles that were threatening to burst but Aunt Petunia still caught them. She and Uncle Vernon turned on her and Harry like an old angry school teacher who had just found out which student was causing trouble.

"What is this?" Uncle demanded. "What's going on?"

"They- they've tried to get here by Floo powder," Harry explained, who was clearly better at controlling his laughter than Grace. "They can travel by fire- only you've blocked the fireplace- hang on."

Harry approached the fireplace and called through the boards. Grace immediately stopped giggling and watched with baited breath, very aware of Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia hovering over her shoulder.

"Mr Weasley? Can you hear me?"

The banging of fists stopped. Somebody inside the fireplace shushed the others.

"Mr Weasley, it's Harry . . . the fireplace has been blocked up. You won't be able to get through there."

"Damn!" Mr Weasley cursed. "What on earth did they want to block up the fireplace for?"

"They've got an electric fire," Harry explained. Grace stepped forward closer to the fireplace.

"Really?" Mr Weasley said excitedly. "Eclectic, you say? With a plug? Gracious, I must see that . . . Let's think . . . ouch, Ron!"

Ron's voice joined the others.

"What are we doing here? Has something gone wrong?"

"Oh no, Ron," Fred said, his sarcasm obvious. "No, this is exactly where we wanted to end up."

"Yeah, we're having the time of our lives here," George added, sounding muffled, like he was squashed against a wall. "Trapped in a fireplace, listening to Grace laugh at us."

Grace bit down on her lip in an effort to stop laughing.

"Boys, boys," Mr Weasley scolded with little effort. "I'm trying to think what to do . . . Yes . . . only way . . . stand back, Harry, Grace."

Grace and Harry walked backwards swiftly, in the opposite direction to Uncle Vernon. If it were anyone else, Grace would have grabbed him on the way past but he deserved whatever he got.

A minute later, right over Uncle Vernon's protests, there was a deafening BANG and the electric fireplace shot across the room like a bullet. The boarded- up fireplace exploded from inside, sending Mr Weasley, Fred, George and Ron to the living room floor in a burst of rubble and loose chippings.

Grace squealed and launched herself forward, dodging around Aunt Petunia as she fell into Uncle Vernon's arms, straight into her best friends' arms. Fred and George, mischievous redheads who were identical down to the very last freckle, each wrapped an arm around her, staring down at her with matching grins.

"You have no idea how awful it's been," she told them under her breath.

"Guess you just can't live without us," Fred remarked. Grace chuckled, swatting him lightly on the arm. "You haven't happened to hear from Miranda, have you?"

Grace rolled his eyes and turned back to Mr Weasley as he tried to explain to Uncle Vernon and Aunt Petunia.

"It just didn't occur to me that we wouldn't be able to get out at the other end. I had your fireplace connected to the Floo Network, you see- just for an afternoon so we could get Harry and Grace. Muggle fireplaces aren't supposed to be connected, strictly speaking, but I've got a useful contact at the Floo Regulation Panel and he fixed it for me. I can put it right in a jiffy, though, don't worry. I'll light a fire to send the boys back, and then I can repair your fireplace before I Disapparate." Grace giggled at the thunderstruck looks on her relatives faces. Aunt Petunia was still stumbling to her feet, hiding behind Uncle Vernon. "Hello, Harry, Grace! Got your trunk ready?" Mr Weasley asked brightly.

"It's upstairs," Harry said, grinning at the redhead father.

"We'll get it," Fred volunteered at once. Grace and George exchanged delighted looks, leaving the room without another glance. He turned to Grace the second they were on the stairs. "So have you heard from Miranda?"

"Of course I've heard from Miranda, you dimwit!" Grace said. "She's nice enough to write more than once a month!"

"Well, yeah, we're sorry bout that," Fred said, scratching the back of his neck. "But how's she going? Is she coming to the World Cup?"

Grace looked over at George in bewilderment, who only shrugged back at her.

"She's fine," Grace answered. "And of course she's not going to the World Cup. She only goes to the Hogwarts games because of you. . . well both of you and Ciara and Hannah."

Grace saw the hope flare up in Fred's eyes for just a second before it disappeared. She grabbed her trunk from where she left it outside Harry's room.

"Couldn't make it more obvious, could he?" George whispered in her ear, leaning over her to take the trunk from her while Fred was getting Harry's.

"I never would have guessed," Grace whispered back, keeping hold of one end of her trunk.

"What are we whispering about?" Fred added, coming out of the room.

"Your prank on Dudley," Grace replied without missing a beat.

"That's a surprise, my dear sweet Gracie," George told her in a low voice, descending the stairs. Fred trailed behind them, letting Harry's trunk thud on every step. "And it will be well worth the wait."

They entered the living room again, instantly noticing Dudley hiding behind his parents. Grace coughed over her laughter at the twins' wicked grins. Harry and Ron looked over at them curiously.

"Ah, right," said Mr Weasley, distracting Grace from her cousin. "Better get cracking then."

He rolled up the sleeves of his robes, removing his wand from his pocket. Grace saw the Dursleys cower in fear at the sight.

"Incendio!" Mr Weasley said, pointing at the spot where the fireplace had been.

Flames rose in the hole, crackling loudly and reminding Grace of winters in the Gryffindor common room. Mr Weasley pulled a drawstring bag from another pocket in his robes, untied it and threw a pinch of the powder inside onto the flames, which flashed green and rose higher than before.

"Off you go then, Fred," Mr Weasley directed.

"Coming," said Fred, launching forward. "Oh no –hang on-"

Fred had slipped a bag of sweets from his pocket, letting big, fat toffee-like lollies fall over the floor, just inviting someone to take them. Grace looked up at George quizzically but he merely winked down at her, stepping forward with Harry's trunk and her own. As soon as Fred had disappeared in a whoosh of flames, George took his place, after some help from Harry to hold the trunks and was gone with a "see you on the other side, Gracie!"

Grace glanced quickly at her cousin, who was still behind his parents but eyeing the sweets off greedily. Sighing internally, she stepped inside the flames, giving the Dursleys a single wave before crying out "the Burrow!" and disappearing.

She spun very fast, feeling like she was trapped in a tornado. Even so, it felt amazing to see the living room of number four Privet Drive whipping out of sight.

Hphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphp

Grace tucked her elbows in, squeezing her eyes until they were only just open. She spun and spun, choking on ash until finally, right as she was starting to feel sick, she tumbled out of the Weasleys fireplace. She hadn't moved her arms up in time and so crashed right on the floor, rolling onto her back with a groan.

"What happened?" Fred asked eagerly, stepping forward into her line of sight.

"Nothing!" Grace exclaimed. "He looked at the toffees that's all."

"Damn, we'll just have to wait for Harry then," Fred muttered just when Ron stepped out of the fireplace.

Grace climbed to her feet, brushing past George with a smile and sitting at the kitchen table right in front of him. It was only then that she noticed the two other redheads in the room. One was short and stocky, just like Fred and George, with weather beaten and freckled skin, burnt a shiny red colour on one arm. The other was tall and- quite honestly- awesome. With his long hair tied back in a ponytail, fang earring and punk rock clothing, Grace thought he would have fit in at one of Miranda's Muggle rock concerts. She looked up at George, nodded towards them with her eyebrows raised.

"Oh right, Grace these are our brothers, Charlie and Bill."

Charlie, the stockier one gave her a warm, friendly smile and Bill nodded once, holding out a hand for her to shake.

"We've heard a lot about you," Charlie commented.

"All good things," Bill assured her. "The twins just won't shut up."

"Oh that's good," Grace said. "Same about you. We always hear about the legendary Bill and Charlie."

Bill and Charlie exchanged grins.

There was a crashing sound as Harry fell out of the fireplace, throwing his hands out at the last second to prevent himself from falling face first. Fred and George immediately leapt to their feet with excited looks on their faces.

"Did he eat it?" Fred asked, pulling Harry to his feet.

"Yeah," Harry said. "What was it?"

"Ton-Tongue Toffee," Fred explained happily. "George and I invented them. We've been looking for someone to try the on all summer."

Grace could only imagine what a 'Ton-Tongue Toffee' would do. She laughed loudly along with Harry and the rest of the Weasleys. Dudley certainly deserved it.

"Told you it would be worth the wait," George said, bracing his arms on the back of her chair. Grace rolled her eyes at him.

Harry had been introduced to the older brothers as they talked and a silence fell over the room, broken after a moment when Mr Weasley apparated into the room with a _pop_. He was the angriest Grace had ever seen him.

"That wasn't funny Fred!" he shouted. "What on earth did you give that Muggle boy?"

"I didn't give him anything," said Fred, with another wicked grin. "I just dropped it . . . . It was his fault he went and ate it, I never told him to."

Grace snorted. Luckily Mr Weasley was too focused on Fred to notice.

"You dropped it on purpose!" roared Mr. Weasley. "You knew he'd eat it, you knew he was on a diet -"

"How big did his tongue get?" George asked with wide eyes and his own growing grin.

"It was four feet long before his parents would let me shrink it!"

Grace, Harry and the Weasleys burst out with laughter again.

"It isn't funny!" Mr. Weasley continued to shout. "That sort of behaviour seriously undermines wizard-Muggle relations! I spend half my life campaigning against the mistreatment of Muggles, and my own sons-"

"We didn't give it to him because he's a Muggle!" said Fred indignantly.

"No, we gave it to him because he's a great bullying git," said George. "Right, Gracie?"

"He is, Mr Weasley, really," said Grace earnestly, nodding. "Deserved every bit of it."

"That's not the point!" raged Mr. Weasley, paying no heed to Grace's words. "You wait until I tell your mother -"

"Tell me what?" said a voice behind them. Grace gave a tiny smirk at the sight of Fred and George's mother entering the kitchen. She was exactly as Grace remembered: short, plump with a kind face and warm smile. Currently though her eyes were narrowed at the twins, as if she didn't know what was going on but if someone had caused trouble it had to be those two.

"Oh hello, Harry, dear and Grace sweetheart," she said, spotting them and smiling. Then her eyes snapped back to her husband suspiciously. "Tell me what, Arthur?"

Mr. Weasley hesitated. Grace's eyes flicked between husband and wife. There was a silence, while Mr. Weasley eyed his wife nervously. Grace wasn't sure that he actually intended on telling Mrs Weasley what had happened. Telling her was always the last threat to the boys but it was usually an empty one.

Then Ginny and Hermione appeared behind Mrs Weasley in the doorway. Hermione's hair was calmer than last time Grace had seen it but she still gave a huge smile at the sight of Harry and Ron. Ginny was still looking as cute and adorable to Grace, even if she knew that the youngest Weasley was deadly.

"Tell me what, Arthur?" Mrs. Weasley repeated dangerously.

"It's nothing, Molly," mumbled Mr. Weasley, "Fred and George just - but I've had words with them -"

"What have they done this time?" said Mrs. Weasley. "If it's got anything to do with Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes -"

Grace grinned at the table when she heard that. Fred and George had been debating all of last term about what to call their joke business.

"Why don't you show Harry where he's sleeping, Ron?" said Hermione from the doorway.

"He knows where he's sleeping," said Ron, "in my room, he slept there last -"

"We can all go," said Hermione pointedly.

"Oh," said Ron, cottoning on. "Right."

"Yeah, we'll come too," said George, gesturing to Grace who shook her head at him.

"You stay where you are!" snarled Mrs. Weasley.

As soon as Harry, Ron, Ginny and Hermione were out of the room, Mrs Weasley rounded on the twins. Bill and Charlie were giving each other smug grins, whispering between them. Grace swore she saw the trade of a gold coin.

"Arthur?" Mrs Weasley started, her voice scarily low. "What did they do?"

Even Mr Weasley cringed away from his wife. He started talking, explaining everything; only his voice was too quiet for anyone to hear.

"Arthur," Mrs Weasley said warningly. "Don't make me get them to explain it themselves."

"He deserved it Mum," Fred pleaded. He closed his mouth at the look she threw him, turning to their father for an explanation.

"They-um- dropped a lolly at the Dursleys," Mr Weasley started. "Their son, Dudley picked it up and ate it. His tongue –er- grew about four feet before his parents would let me shrink it. It got so bad his father was starting to throw ornaments at both me and Harry, barely missing us both. He still looked murderous when I left."

Mrs Weasley turned back to the twins, looking livid.

"Care to explain?"

"It was just a joke, mum, it wouldn't hurt him," Fred said.

"What would have happened if your father wasn't around?" Mrs Weasley questioned fiercely. "What would have happened to him then? No Muggle healer would have any clue what to do."

"The effects only lasted an hour or so, mum," Fred continued with a shrug. "His tongue would have shrunk back."

"How can you be so sure about that?" Mrs Weasley said. "How can you trust that something you cooked up in your bedroom won't hurt an innocent Muggle boy?"

"He wasn't innocent, mum," George argued. "He would have deserved it if he got stuck with that tongue. Tell her Grace."

Grace looked up at Mrs Weasley with wide eyes. Mrs Weasley softened slightly when she looked at Grace. Right now the whole room was looking at her.

"Well- um- he is awful, Mrs Weasley. He and his friends used to bully Harry when we were younger."

For a moment Mrs Weasley looks doubtful. She grimaces and takes a huffed breath out.

"See?" George gloated. "We weren't doing anything wrong!"

Grace gasped sharply. Even Bill and Charlie were shaking their heads at their brother.

"You weren't doing anything wrong?" Mrs Weasley shrieked. "No matter what that boy has done you have no right to gone into his home and play such a horrible trick on him! The both of you have more sense than that! How could you even think that it would be funny? You're lucky you weren't reported to the Ministry! I have half a mind to go in there myself and report you. Have you no shame? Is this what you plan to do for the rest of the year as well? I don't want half as many Hogwarts letters as last year either!"

Grace started to tune out the rant after that, curling up in her chair and picked at the tassels on her skirt. It was only a couple of minutes later that she was startled out of her daze by Bill's voice.

"Grace? Do you want to come outside and help set up for dinner?"

"Oh yeah sure."

She left the twins sitting under their mother's reproachful gaze with a mouthed apology, following Bill and Charlie out into the garden.

"What do we actually have to set up?" Grace asked.

"Just tables," Bill told her. "We can't all fit inside. Dad has some old ones out in the garage with the rest of his Muggle junk."

Grace snorted. "Muggle junk?"

"Take a look for yourself," Charlie said, throwing open the doors of the garage. Grace's jaw dropped at the sheer amount of Muggle appliances stuffing the creaky building. There were smashed TVs, old cassette players, broken phones and even more.

"Okay I knew your dad liked Muggles but I didn't know he was-"

"Obsessed," Bill and Charlie finished together.

"Right."

They started searching through the Muggle appliances and objects for the spare tables. It took them a few more minutes digging around before Grace spotted them piled up on a shelf above a washing machine and dishwasher. Charlie and Bill each levitated one out to the garden, just as Fred and George emerged from the house.

"Ugh," George shuddered. "That was one of her worse ones. Going on about our future and lack of ambition."

"Well you do have ambition," Grace pointed out. "It's just not exactly . . ."

"Mother- approved?" Fred guessed, scowling.

There was a great crash behind them. They spun around to see Bill raise an eyebrow and collide his own table into Charlie's.

"Take that!" Bill cried.

"Oh it's on!" Charlie exclaimed. With an exuberant wave of his wand he swung his table back into Bill's with a loud bang. Fred and George gave him excited woops, causing Grace to cheer Bill on instead. Soon the yard was filled with the sound of the two tables being forced together over and over again. Fred, George and Grace fell onto the grass and watched the fight from below, fighting over who would win and cheering on their favourite older brother.

Hphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphphp

The night wore on and Grace couldn't be happier. After one and a half months she finally had a fulfilling dinner, eating three helpings of chicken and ham pie, salad and boiled potatoes, leaving her feeling tired and content. They talked and talked, basking in the warm air and smell of honeysuckles. Mr Weasley lit candles around them and Mrs Weasley brought out homemade strawberry ice-cream. Grace leant back, with her hands cupped around a hot cocoa, laughing at Bill, Charlie and the twins. She was barely aware of making her way up to the Ginny's room when Mrs Weasley sent them to bed, collapsing on top of her camp bed on the floor of Ginny's room.

It felt like barely an hour had passed when Mrs Weasley was flicking the lamps on and gently shaking them each awake.

"I let you sleep in a couple minutes more than the boys," she told them softly. "But you still need to get dressed and ready to be down in the kitchen soon."

Grace groaned, stuffing her face further into her pillow. Raising her head, she saw Hermione sitting up on her camper bed, rubbing her eyes and Ginny tightening her hold on the blankets cocooning her body.

After another minute of enjoying the comfort and warmth of their beds they rolled out and clumsily got dressed, stuffing their bags and flinging them over their shoulders. Grace still felt half asleep descending the stairs and didn't even register when Fred and George gave her their morning greeting. She did however notice when George nudged her and pulled a lolly from his pocket before tucking it back in.

"You're kidding right?" she hissed at him. "Your mum is so going to notice."

"Oh c'mon Gracie," George whined. "We're fine. We'll get away with it."

"'We'?" Grace repeated. "The both of you have them hidden away?"

"Well obviously we both do," Fred answered. "Mum'll never know."

"It'd be better if you hid some too," George said with a thoughtful look on his face. His fingers snuck their way into the pocket of Grace's shorts, leaving a lolly there as well.

"Oh bloody hell," Grace whispered, grabbing more lollies from him to stuff in the rolls of shorts, the cuff of her jacket and down her shirt.

"George!" Mrs Weasley's voice cut across the room, startling Grace and causing her to drop a lolly on the floor.

"What?" George asked, planting his innocent face on. Grace rolled her eyes.

"What is that in your pocket?"

"Nothing!"

"Don't you lie to me!" Mrs Weasley brandished her wand at George and cried out, "Accio!"

Grace groaned quietly as several of the twins' lollies flew out of George's pocket.

"We told you to destroy them!" said Mrs. Weasley furiously, waving the prank sweets in the air. "We told you to get rid of the lot! Empty your pockets, go on, both of you!"

At the twins' reluctance to part with any more of their creations, Mrs Weasley waved her wand, summoning them all to her. Even Grace was caught out as the lollies began to fly out from the folds of her clothes. For once Grace was on the receiving end of one of Mrs Weasley's horrible glares before she turned to throw the lollies away.

"We spent six months developing those!" Fred shouted in outrage at his mother.

"Oh what a fine way to spend six months," She commented back at him. "No wonder you didn't get more OWLs."

Grace winced at the low blow. The twins had spent months studying with her, really, but the career they were going for didn't require the same amount of OWLs that their mother wanted them to receive.

Ultimately Grace and the twins left the Burrow in a sour mood. She had tried apologising to Mrs Weasley as she left but caught the sight of George broken face. They really had spent months working on the lollies. She remember staying up on Saturday nights, lending them medical advice and occasionally watching over them while they ran test trials. Now they had to start from scratch.

So they left.

Even as Mrs Weasley called after the twins to behave they didn't look back.

**Please review with any questions, comments or advice. **


	3. The Quidditch World Cup

**No Friday upload this week, I know. I wrote almost this whole thing today and had to cut it short just to finish it this weekend. The one after next is already written but the next won't take that long to actually write. I just need to finish my English assignment first. Oops that's due in a week. **

Chapter Three: The Quidditch World Cup

Grace jogged to keep up with the twins, who had picked up their pace with annoyance at Mrs Weasley. They spared her a glance and kept walking, scowling darkly.

"I'm sorry guys, I know you worked hard on those treats," she said softly. Neither of them looked away from the road ahead. "It might not fix everything but the girls and I would help you remake them. We might not try them for you but . . . we could help."

Grace finished lamely with a small shrug that she thought neither of them would see. They snorted simultaneously.

"You really think we would spend six months working on something and not keep a record of what we did?" George asked her.

"Um no?"

"We'll accept the help anyway," Fred told her, slinging an arm across her shoulder.

"So you're not that upset about losing the lollies?" Grace frowned.

"No, no we're annoyed about that," George said. "They were our last batch after all. But we know how to make them again."

"It's more about mum really," Fred explained. "We just wish she would stop expecting us to be like Bill, Charlie or hell even Percy. We're not ever gonna be like them so she should just stop trying and let us get on with our lives." He let out a deep huff of breath and run a frustrated hand through his hair. "Sorry."

Grace laughed, letting the sound echo along the quiet road, "No need to be sorry. You're mum'll understand, Fred, just give her time." She caught George's eye and gave him a small smile, one that he actually returned. Taking her eyes off her best friends, she peered into the fog ahead, unable to see anything but the dark shapes of trees and the silhouette of the village to their right.

"Stoatshead Hill, I reckon," George said, pointing at the hill in question rising out from behind the village.

"You don't actually know where we're going?" Grace questioned. "Why are we in the lead then?"

George rolled his eyes at her, "Dad was telling us about how the Ministry set up Portkey locations and how much of a fuss it was for them. The closest one to us is Stoatshead Hill." Grace scrunched up her face in distaste. She could see Fred grimace at the mention of Portkeys.

"So does that mean that they'll be other people there too?"

"Anybody else going to the Cup in this area should be," Fred said. "Ciara said her family was going early though, so the only others I know of are the Diggorys."

Both of the twins scowled at the mention of their rival Hufflepuff Quidditch captain, the one who had been the first ever Seeker to beat Harry to the Snitch.

"Oh, c'mon guys, it was one game," Grace cried. "he seems like a nice enough guy."

"Didn't even look back when Harry fell of his broom," George muttered.

"Really? Would you ever look back if you hit someone with a Bludger? It's not like he's John Rookwood or Callidus Minos." Grace added, naming the two Slytherin Beaters that the twins hated with a passion.

"Don't even mention those two," Fred told her fiercely. "Bloody Pureblood gits."

Grace stared at the ground and grinned.

They fell into silence once they started climbing the hill, panting for breath in the effort to walk up the steep ascent. Even if the sun had begun to rise on their walk over, it was still low in the sky, causing Grace to fall over unseen rabbit holes. Eventually, when Grace thought she might have passed out from lack of breath, they rose over the crest of the hill, clutching each other and gasping for breath.

"Whew," panted Mr. Weasley as he and Harry joined them. "Well, we've made good time - we've got ten minutes."

Hermione was the last to join them, holding on to her side in pain, before they stated the search for the Portkey. Grace ended up separating from the twins and walking with Hermione and Ginny until they walked into the path of the very tall, very handsome Cedric Diggory.

"Oh hello," he greeted. "Grace, isn't it?"

"Yep," Grace smiled up at the Hufflepuff. His golden brown hair was mussed from the walk up there and his sculptured face, complete with distinct cheekbones, gorgeous hazel eyes and a stunning smile, was red and puffed. Hannah was right in thinking he was attractive. "Cedric, right?"

Cedric gave her a nod, about to reach out for a handshake when they heard they shout calling them over. Mr Weasley was standing next to a bearded, ruddy face man, who Grace assumed was Cedric's father.

"This is Amos Diggory, everyone," introduced Mr. Weasley. "He works for the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. And I think you know his son, Cedric?"

"Hi," Cedric said, looking over the Weasleys, Hermione and Harry. Fred and George were the only ones who didn't return his greeting, instead nodding and looking at Grace like she had betrayed them just by standing next to him.

"Long walk, Arthur?" Cedric's father asked. "Not too bad," said Mr. Weasley. "We live just on the other side of the village there. You?"

"Had to get up at two, didn't we, Ced? I tell you, I'll be glad when he's got his Apparition test. Still . . . not complaining . . . Quidditch World Cup, wouldn't miss it for a sackful of Galleons - and the tickets cost about that. Mind you, looks like I got off easy. . . ." Amos Diggory peered good-naturedly around at their rather large party . "All these yours, Arthur?"

"Oh no, only the redheads," said Mr. Weasley, pointing out his children. "Except for Grace, the twins' friend. This is Hermione, friend of Ron's - and Harry, another friend -"

"Merlin's beard," said Amos Diggory, his eyes widening. "Harry? Harry Potter?"

Grace let out a low sigh, earning her a curious look from Cedric. Of course they had to go through this routine every time Harry met someone new.

"Er - yeah," said Harry.

Grace knew that he wished this didn't happen. It wasn't like he didn't get enough attention already without people gawking at his scar all the time.

"Ced's talked about you, of course," said Amos Diggory. "Told us all about playing against you last year. . . I said to him, I said - Ced, that'll be something to tell your grandchildren, that will . . . . You beat Harry Potter!"

Harry remained silent. Fred and George were both scowling again. Cedric looked slightly embarrassed. Grace scoffed slightly at the way everybody always brought that game up, like it wasn't already horrible enough as it was.

"Harry fell off his broom, Dad," Cedric muttered. "I told you . . . it was an accident . . . ."

"Yes, but you didn't fall off, did you?" roared Amos, slapping his son on his back.

The man kept on talk but Grace stopped listening as Cedric turned to murmur in her ear, "I tried to call for a rematch, I swear. Didn't seem fair to me for s to win a game like that."

"I know," Grace whispered back, aware of the glares Fred and George were sending them. "Our Chaser, Hannah saw you. It was nice of you to try."

"Hannah's the darker haired one, right?" Cedric confirmed.

"Yeah and considering the other two Chasers are blondes, she tends to stand out."

"She should, she's an amazing player."

Grace grinned, biting her lip to stop from squealing, like she knew Hannah would be if she heard their conversation.

"Yes, it's a minute off . . . We'd better get ready," Mr Weasley said, breaking Grace and Cedric's conversation. They all crowded around the rank old boot that Mr Diggory was holding in his hand, bumping into each other's backpacks and getting too close for comfort. Grace braced herself for the oncoming jerk that would come.

Finally, just when Mr Weasley finished his countdown, she was pulled off her feet at lifted forward by something incredibly sharp to the back of her neck. They spun forwards in a howl of wind and mess of colours, only held together by the boot that was stuck on each of their fingers. It pulled them on and on until Grace feet landed with a thud on the ground that sent her staggering into Cedric. He and the two adults were the only ones still standing.

"Oh, sorry," Grace gasped, pulling away from Cedric, only to have him reach back and steady her.

"It's alright. It's always a bit of a shock the first time."

Grace laughed, "I was warned about it but somehow the warning didn't quite match up to the experience."

Once the dizzying sensation stopped, Grace took a look at where they had landed. It appeared to be a moor and, from the mist covering everything in sight, it was in the middle of nowhere. Two men who had disastrously tried to dress like Muggles, one in a tweed suit and galoshes and the other wore a kilt and poncho, stood in front of them with a gold watch and thick roll of parchment.

Their group listened as Mr Weasley and the man in the poncho exchanged pleasantries. They received directions to their campsite, closer than the Diggorys and set off.

"Guess I'll see you around then," Cedric said when they came to a stop in front of the first campsite that the Weasleys would be staying in. "It was nice to meet you Grace."

"You too Cedric, enjoy the game," Grace waved. Soon the two Diggorys had disappeared into the mist.

"See you around then," Fred mocked, glaring after Cedric.

"Nice to meet you, Grace," George added.

"What's wrong with the both of you?" Grace demanded.

"He's just too- too. . ." George was lost for the right words.

"Good for you?" Grace finished. "Seriously just because everyone likes him doesn't mean there's something wrong with him."

The twins grumbled at her, turning to watch their father fumble over Muggle currency for the campsite manager. Grace shook her head at them.

"Hey, Grace!" a voice called out from behind them. Grace turned her head to see her fellow Gryffindor sixth year, Hannah Guptan emerge from the sea of tents.

"Hannah!" Grace exclaimed, pulling her friend into a hug. "You just missed him!"

"Who?"

"Cedric Diggory!"

"Really?" Hannah gasped, craning her neck around Grace to see if he was still there.

"He already left, sweetie. Probably scared off by the twins," Grace added, with a roll of her eyes. At that point the twins noticed who was standing with Grace and stepped forward to greet their friend as well. "But not before he said that you were an _amazing Chaser_."

Hannah's eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open. Fred and George started to frown.

"He said that? Are you sure he meant me?"

"You're the only darked haired Chaser on the Gryffindor team, aren't you?" Mr Weasley gestured for them to follow them towards the gate of the campsite, talking to a man in plus-fours. Grace, Hannah and the twins lagged behind for a second. "When'd you get here?"

"Only an hour ago," Hannah answered, a flattered smile growing on her face. "I'm supposed to be meeting Nick with the Portkeys actually. He's been working in London and took the Portkey from there. You're coming to Miranda's though?"

"Night before school starts right?" Grace said. Hannah confirmed with a nod. "I'll be there. See you soon!"

Giving Hannah a last wave, Grace and the twins jogged after the Weasleys, Harry and Hermione into the midst of tents. Most of the tents looked just like normal Muggle ones, except for the addition of a chimney, weather vane or wooden front door. Occasionally there were more dramatic ones, such as a miniature palace made of silk, a three story tent with turrets and another that a front garden attached, complete with bird bath, sundial and fountain.

"Always the same," Mr Weasley smiled. "We can't resist showing off when we're together. Ah, here we are, look, this is us."

They had reached an empty space near the end of the field, right on the edge of the woods. Hammered into the space was a small sign that read WEEZLY.

"You sure that's meant to be you?" Grace whispered to George.

"Couldn't have a better spot!" said Mr. Weasley happily. "The field is just on the other side of the wood there, we're as close as we could be." He hoisted his backpack from his shoulders. "Right," he said excitedly, "no magic allowed, strictly speaking, not when we're out in these numbers on Muggle land. We'll be putting these tents up by hand! Shouldn't be too difficult . . . . Muggles do it all the time . . . . Here, Harry, where do you reckon we should start?"

Grace raised her eyebrows at that. Neither one of them had actually been camping in their life. Even if the Dursleys had bothered to take them on holidays, her aunt and uncle were the type that stayed in five star hotels and refused to spend the night outside.

Even though, Grace and Hermione crouched down to help Mr Weasley and Harry. It took them a while to figure out the jumble of pegs and material that Mr Weasley had brought. Mr Weasley ended up being more of a hindrance than a help, getting excited over the simplest of Muggle tools. In the end they did manage to assemble two tiny tents.

"Are we supposed to fit into those?" Grace questioned.

Fred winked at her. "You just wait and see."

Grace frowned and followed Harry and Mr Weasley into the tent. Her mouth dropped open. She stopped frozen in the entrance. Inside the tent was a fully- furnished three-room flat, complete with crocheted covers on the chairs and a strong smell of cats.

"Oh," she said. Fred, George and Ron pushed past her to enter the tent. She followed them further in to inspect the fully functioning bathroom and kitchen.

They all made in back into the kitchen and organised for Harry, Ron and Hermione to go off for some water for the kettle while everyone else found fire wood. After a quick tour of the girls' tent, which was slightly smaller and without the smell of cats, they were off.

The firewood was provided free of charge back up towards the entrance of the field. Grace and the twins were charged with going for the short walk there while Ginny and Mr Weasley set up their breakfast.

There wasn't much to see on the way there, seeing as they were just retracing their steps from earlier. Even so, they were turning around, having filled their bucket with a large amount of firewood when Grace caught sight of a familiar couple perched on the fence a few rows along.

"Trina?" she called out, dragging the boys along with her.

Sitting on the fence next to Trina was Oliver Wood, her boyfriend and ex-captain of the Gryffindor Quidditch team. He had his arm wrapped around her waist, smiling down at her endearingly as she talked. Hearing Grace, Trina stopped talking and looked up, her face splitting into a huge grin. She leapt off the fence and tackled Grace with a cry.

"OhmyMerlin Gracie I've missed you!"

"It hasn't been that long," Grace protested even as she hugged her friend back. "Besides only two more weeks until we see each other."

"You talking about school or our slumber party at Miranda?" Trina whispered with a sly wink.

"Um either?" Grace guessed. "I thought we were just spending the night catching up before school?"

"Well yeah of course," Trina answered with a dramatic roll of her eyes. "_But_ her parents are going to this work meeting that night and Miranda knows where the key to their Firewhisky cabinet is. There's enough of it in there for them not to notice if any goes missing."

"So George is going to their work meeting as well?" Grace asked, referring to Miranda's younger brother.

"No I don't think so," Trina answered contemplatively. "Miranda says he won't care though. And he's around for all of the Gryffindor parties so he should be used to it."

Grace grinned. Six sixteen year old girls drinking the night before their first day of school. What could go wrong?

"Can't wait then."

Trina smiled back at her, her eyes twinkling.

"How long have you and the twins been here then?"

"Only since this morning," Grace said. "Mr Weasley sent us off to find firewood because he insists on doing everything the Muggle way."

"Mr and Mrs Wood aren't like that," Trina told her. "Their tent sings the Irish national anthem and flashes its colours."

"Hang on a second, you're staying with his parents?"

"Yeah, somehow after almost three years this is the first time I've met them. They're really nice though, and Mr Wood could be as Quidditch crazed as Ollie is. I think Mrs Wood is glad for someone to talk to that isn't obsessed."

"Hey, Tryn, we should probably get back soon," Oliver called out from where he had been talking with Fred and George. "Nice seeing you Grace."

"You too Oliver," Grace called back.

"Good luck at Puddlemere," the boys wished before joining Grace and heading back to their campsite. They swung the bucket of wood between them on the way, singing the Irish national anthem jovially.

Even as they provided a rather large pile of firewood for them to use, Mr Weasley couldn't light a match to save his life. Ginny, Grace and the twins watched as he broke match after match, ittering the ground around them. Even after the golden trio returned with their buckets and saucepans of water he hadn't managed to light one successfully.

"You've been ages," George commented to the trio.

"Met a few people," Ron answered. "You've not got that fire started yet?"

"Dad's having fun with the matches," Fred snickered.

"Oops," Mr Weasley said as the match in his hand caught on fire and he promptly dropped it in surprise.

"You know I technically do know how to light a match," Grace whispered to Fred. "But he looked like he was having so much fun."

Hermione took pity on Mr Weasley in the end, taking the matches from him. It would take them an hour for anything to be ready to cook so they sat back, enjoying the warmth and watched the swarm of Ministry workers and other wizards pass in front of their tent. Mr Weasley kept up a running commentary for Harry and Hermione but his children looked like they had heard enough about everyone in front of them to last a lifetime. Grace sat back with Fred and George, laugh at their version of Mr Weasleys commentary.

Just as the sausages and eggs were placed on the fire, Bill, Charlie and Percy came strolling out of the woods towards them.

"Just apparated, Dad," Percy announced rather loudly. "Ah, excellent, lunch!"

Fred and George narrowed their eyes at their brother, pulling their eggs closer.

Grace was halfway through her eggs and the twins were shovelling down their second helping when Mr Weasley jumped up in excitement.

"Aha!" he cried. "The man of the moment! Ludo!

In front of them was a man with an air of someone had been extremely attractive in their younger years and was clinging onto that tightly. He was wearing tight Quidditch robes in stripes of yellow and black with a huge wasp printed on the stretching fabric of his chest. His growing belly was something clearly not present in his Quidditch days but he still kept his bright blue eyes, ruffled blonde hair and rosy complexion.

"Ahoy there!" he called happily, bouncing over to them. "Arthur, old man," he puffed as he reached the campfire, "what a day, eh? What a day! Could we have asked for more perfect weather? A cloudless night coming . . . and hardly a hiccough in the arrangements . . . . Not much for me to do!"

Behind him, a group of haggard-looking Ministry wizards rushed past, pointing at the distant evidence of some sort of a magical fire that was sending violet sparks twenty feet into the air. Percy hurried forward with his hand outstretched. Grace snorted at his eagerness to make a good impression even on those Ministry workers he wasn't fond of.

"Ah - yes," said Mr. Weasley, grinning, "this is my son Percy. He's just started at the Ministry - and this is Fred - no, George, sorry - that's Fred –their friend Grace Potter- Bill, Charlie, Ron - my daughter, Ginny and Ron's friends, Hermione Granger and Harry Potter."

Bagman did the smallest of double takes when he heard Harry's name, and his eyes performed the familiar flick upward to the scar on Harry's forehead. Grace thanked him internally for not making a big deal of it.

"Everyone," Mr. Weasley continued, "this is Ludo Bagman, you know who he is, it's thanks to him we've got such good tickets -"

Bagman beamed and waved his hand at the thanks.

"Fancy a flutter on the match, Arthur?" he said eagerly, jingling a collection of coins in the pocket of his robes. "I've already got Roddy Pontner betting me Bulgaria will score first - I offered him nice odds, considering Ireland's front three are the strongest I've seen in years - and little Agatha Timms has put up half shares in her eel farm on a week-long match."

"Oh ... go on then," said Mr. Weasley. "Let's see . . . a Galleon on Ireland to win?"

"A Galleon?" Ludo Bagman, disappointed, but recovered quickly. "Very well, very well . . . any other takers?"

"They're a bit young to be gambling," said Mr. Weasley. "Molly wouldn't like -"

"We'll bet thirty-seven Galleons, fifteen Sickles, three Knuts," said Fred as he and George quickly pooled all their money, "that Ireland wins - but Viktor Krum gets the Snitch. Oh and we'll throw in a fake wand."

Grace gasped, knowing that was all of the twins' money. Then again she also knew that they planned on selling any of their new products at school to make more money.

"You don't want to go showing Mr. Bagman rubbish like that," Percy hissed, but Bagman didn't seem to think the wand was rubbish at all; on the contrary, his boyish face shone with excitement as he took it from Fred, and when the wand gave a loud squawk and turned into a rubber chicken, Bagman roared with laughter.

"Excellent! I haven't seen one that convincing in years! I'd pay five Galleons for that!"

Percy froze in an attitude of stunned disapproval. Grace stifled her laughter.

"Boys," said Mr. Weasley under his breath, "I don't want you betting . . . . That's all your savings . . . . Your mother -"

"Don't be a spoilsport, Arthur!" boomed Ludo Bagman, rattling his pockets excitedly. "They're old enough to know what they want! You reckon Ireland will win but Krum'll get the Snitch? Not a chance, boys, not a chance . . . . I'll give you excellent odds on that one. We'll add five Galleons for the funny wand, then, shall we . . . ."

"Cheers," George nodded, accepting the piece of parchment Bagman gave them.

"Are you planning on getting that money back at some point?" Grace whispered at him.

"Course we are!" he whispered back. "Money'll be flooding in when we get another batch of trick sweets made."

"You better get the money back in time to buy me birthday present then!" she hissed at him.

George grinned at her, turning back to the conversation as Fred taunted Percy. They settled back into listening to the Ministry workers talk, laughing at the nickname Percy's boss had come up for him and perking with interest when Ludo Bagman mentioned something happening at Hogwarts.

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Grace thought that nothing could ever compare to the excitement of Quidditch games at Hogwarts. But as the afternoon started to die and dusk settled into the air, a feeling of excitement settling over the whole area. Wizards bustling around, children squealed and crazy fans shouted their national anthem at the top of their lungs. The Ministry had just stopped trying by that point and let the magic run its rampage.

Salesmen were now appearing everywhere Grace, Ginny and the twins walked. They had trays and carts full of rosettes- red for Bulgaria and green for Ireland- that shouted the players' names, pointed green hats with dancing shamrocks, Bulgarian scarves with lions that really roared, flags of both countries that played their national anthem as you waved it, miniature models of Firebolts that would fly around your head and tiny models of famous players who would walk across your hand.

Grace waved her Irish flag in the twins' face, showing off her green rosette. Ginny grinned at her, letting the Firebolt that Grace bought her fly in George's face. Both of the twins scowled at them.

George was just trying to snatch Grace's flag away from her, who turned and ran away, giggling, when she tumbled into a large group of slim, blonde-haired girls. George caught her as she fell, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"George?" came a voice from the middle of the group. Both Grace and George turned to stare when their dark-skinned, dreadlocked friend greeted them from between two of the girls. "Grace?"

"Lee?" Grace said incredulously.

"Excuse me ladies, I'll be right back," he said, extracting himself from the girls and dragging Grace and George with him. Fred spotted them and walked over. Both of the boys pulled Lee into a manly hug and when they were done, Lee grabbed Grace for kiss on both cheeks. "You guys have no idea how amazing it is here. Dad brought me over yesterday with a couple of his work friends and their kids. Bunch of pansies the kids are but- blimey, there's a tent full of Australian girls next to ours. Merlin, are they beautiful!"

"Oh my god Lee," Grace chuckled. "did you just abandon your dad for a bunch of hot girls?"

"Grace, Australian girls are _perfect_!" he insisted. "You should meet Sophie- absolute beauty- but then there's Laura and she is _amazing!_"

"Lee, you realise that the game is starting in like five minutes?" Grace questioned incredulously.

"Oh- shit- I better find my dad," Lee said, spinning around. "See you at school."

Grace stared after their friend, shaking her head as Fred and George roared with laughter. They were still snickering when they arrived back at the tent. The twins stared enviously around at everyone else's souvenirs.

Suddenly a loud, booming gong sounded somewhere deep in the woods and, at once, red and green lanterns sprang into life along a path into the woods.

"It's time!" Mr Weasley said, looking around at all of their excited faces. "C'mon, let's go."

Grace grinned, holding onto Fred and George's arms as she sprung to her feet. They bounced along the path towards the stadium with the rest of the Weasleys, looking forward to the night ahead.

**Pleas review with any comments, questions or advice. **


	4. Burn the Bright Lights

**Oh my Merlin, five days late! It's horrible I know but I actually had no internet for the whole long weekend, apart from being on holiday, and I only got to update this now through my phone's wifi. Most of the other one is typed up already though so I think it won't take as long. Please don't be angry at me if it does though!**

Chapter Four- Burn the Bright Lights

"I still can't believe that you won that bet," Grace said, shaking her head.

"Believe it, baby," Fred said. "You'll be getting an amazing Christmas present this year."

"I thought you told your dad that you had plans for that money?" Grace frowned.

"Yes, Gracie dear, money making plans." George said. "By the end of the year an Irish win is not the only thing we'll have to celebrate."

Grace laughed, moving closer to the twins so as to not get swept away in the crowds of spectators pouring out of the stadium. The game had just finished, with a spectacular result of Victor Krum catching the Snitch but Ireland winning the match, exactly as the twins had bet it would. Grace couldn't believe it herself. According to Charlie, it was a rarity and hadn't been seen in a World Cup game for decades.

She had to admit she had enjoyed herself though. Even if she attended most of the Gryffindor Quidditch training sessions and all Hogwarts games, she wasn't a hard-core Quidditch fanatic like most of her friends. There was something about this game that made it that much better. Maybe it was the atmosphere of 100,000 people screaming for their team, maybe it was that the Irish and Bulgarian players were better than she had ever seen, which was saying something considering how good the Gryffindor team was, or maybe it was just the fact that she was surrounded by people she loved. No, it couldn't be that; it was just a great game, Grace thought.

Grace and the twins trailed after the rest of the Weasleys along the path in the woods, joining in on the raucous singing of the Irish national anthem at the top of their lungs. Leprechauns fly over their heads, shouting rude declarations of victory at the Bulgarians and sprinkling them with green glitter. When they made it back to the tents, nobody felt like sleeping and there was no point trying with the chaos that the Irish supporters were creating so Mr Weasley let them stay up, drinking hot cocoa.

Grace ended up curled up in George's lap, listening to him argue with Fred and Bill over the English Quidditch teams. He stroked a hand through her hair and smiled at her as she laughed at them.

It was only when Ginny fell asleep at the table, spilling her hot cocoa onto the floor, that Mr Weasley announced it was time for bed. Grace, Hermione and Ginny said their goodnights and crossed to the other tent. None of them bothered to turn and light on so they slipped into their pyjamas in the dark and fell into their beds clumsily. Full of chocolate, finger food from vendors during the match and a settling happiness after the Irish win, Grace fell into an easy sleep.

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At first, Grace wasn't sure what was happening. Something had woken her from her sleep.

It wasn't until she heard the bangs echo across the night and the bright flash light up the tent that she knew what had woken her. The noise was followed by loud jeering, drunken yells and roars of manic laughter.

"Get up! Ginny, Grace, Hermione, its urgent! Quickly!" Mr Weasley's voice cut through the tent, making Grace sit up and peer around in the dark. "Grab a jacket and shoes, girls and get outside!"

For a moment they fumbled with their clothing until Grace pulled out her wand and whispered, "_Lumos!_" The tip of her wand illuminated their bedroom, casting an eerie light over Ginny and Hermione's frightened faces. In a matter of seconds they had shoes on and coats shrugged on over their nightgowns.

"Come on, let's go," Grace said, slipping her hand into Ginny's smaller one as they emerged from the tent to a chaotic scene.

Another flash of horrible green light flashed across the sky, revealing a group of tightly packed wizards marching across the field in unison, wands pointing up. Their long, dark robes had pointed hoods and there were silver masks covering their faces.

Floating in the air above the group were four people, writhing against invisible ropes while being forced into different positions. Two of them were small children.

Along their way, the group picked up more masked and hooded wizards, joining in to laugh up at the group twisting above them. Tents crumpled beneath their feet, some even being blasted away. Grace saw a couple catch on fire. The screams were ringing in her ears.

There wasn't much time to even take in what was happening as the girls rushed over to where Harry, Ron and the twins stood. At the same time, Bill, Charlie and Percy ran out of the other tent, fully dressed with their wands out.

"We're going to help the Ministry!" Mr. Weasley shouted over all the noise, rolling up his own sleeves. "You lot - get into the woods, and stick together. I'll come and fetch you when we've sorted this out!"

It was all such a blur. Before Grace knew it, the older Weasleys had disappeared and her grip on Ginny's hand loosened as Fred tugged her away. She, Ron, Hermione, Harry and George followed them towards the woods. They paused for a second at the tree line to glance back at the horrible mess enfolding in front of them. Grace looked over at Harry; meeting his eyes for a second. She tried to smile, tried to convey that everything would be alright but she couldn't even manage that.

Instead she nudged him further into the trees. There was no longer any light to see by except for the occasional flashes of green. Figures blundered around in the dark, calling after one another. Cries of children came from every direction, accompanied by panicked shouting.

Grace moved closer to George, reaching for his hand. Her feet slipped on the ground and other people barged into her but he kept pulling her along. His large, warm hand was the only thing giving her comfort, like a lifeline dragging her to safety. Together they made their way through the swarms of people crying for help, heading for somewhere safer. Grace thought the night might actually be making a turn for the better.

Until his hand wasn't there anymore.

One second it was and the next, she had to duck beneath a low hanging branch, someone slammed into her side, her hand was slipping in his and then, it was gone.

"George!" she cried out.

Even as his name left her lips, she knew it was pointless. Her cry got lost in thousands of others, never to be heard by her best friend.

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Grace was left stumbling around without a clue, unable to see where she was going and bumping into someone every single time she tried to grab her wand. There were still flashes of light coming from the campsite and the marching sounded louder than before. Sounds of fighting rang through the air, terrifying Grace.

Finally she broke free of the crowds, gasping for breath, only to realise that the ground was disappearing beneath her feet. Arms failing and feet frantically trying to regain balance, she fell. The ground inclined steeply while she rolled down it. Over and over, her hands unable to grab anything as she passed.

Grace came to a stop in a heap at the bottom of the hill when she crashed into something solid and warm.

"_Lumos!_" she hissed, able to pull her wand out at last.

The wand gave her enough light to see the clearing she had fallen into. She could see the crowds of people mingling at the top of the hill, merging together into a mass of dark shapes. There were large trees around her, spreading their roots across the forest floor.

A low moan alerted Grace to the fact that she was still lying half on top of someone. Quickly she rolled away, jumping to her feet and dusting down her ruined nightdress. Grace observed the boy kneeling in front of her and gasped when the recognised the tousled golden hair and slight build.

"Cedric?"

"Grace?" he questioned. In a second he had leapt to his feet. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine," she said, looking him over in the dim light. There was a bleeding cut on his forehead that veered off into his hairline and his pyjamas were ripped in a couple of places but other than that he seemed fine. Grace didn't want to know what she looked like after her little tumble. "Here, let me help you with that."

Grace tore the sleeve off her nightgown, making sure it wasn't covered in dirt, and approached Cedric.

"I'm fine, really, it's nothing," he protested.

"You're bleeding, Cedric," she told him firmly. "I volunteer with Madam Pompfrey; I know what I'm doing."

"I know you do," Cedric said, making her frown. "I wasn't doubting you. I just don't think you need to worry about it."

"Oh, please, it'll just take one second."

Cedric stopped arguing and allowed Grace to step forward and clean the blood off his cut before waving her wand over it to start the healing process. She gave him a smile when finished, holding her wand between them for light. He was about to return it when his whole body froze.

"Did you hear that?" he whispered.

"Hear what?" Grace said with a laugh, unease having slipped away in the few minutes she was with Cedric. Her laugh echoed around the clearing but just as it faded away she heard something too. The sharp crack of a twig followed by a maniacal laughter in response to her own.

Grace looked up at Cedric with wide eyes.

"Can't let them have all the fun out there. Must be more somewhere around here."

Grace frowned at the horrible statement. She recognised that cold, heartless voice from school. Callidus Minos. Of course he would be running around laughing at Muggles on a night like this.

"_Come out, come out wherever you are,_" added another, older voice; one that Grace didn't know as they sung out in delight.

"Let's get out of here," Cedric murmured, taking Grace's hand and tugging her away. She stumbled over the soft ground, twisting her neck around to stare behind them.

They were just creeping out of the clearing when a shout rang through the woods.

"Hey, Call, look who we've got!"

Grace and Cedric exchanged horrified glances. It was only when they could hear the sound of running that Grace realised.

"Shit! My wand's still lit! _Nox_."

As she cast the counter charm, the woods they were standing in were plunged into darkness. The grip on Grace's hand tightened. The shouts behind them increased in volume and proximity.

"Run!" Cedric hissed.

Even as the trees whipped her in the face, Grace kept running; this time keeping a tight hold on the hand encasing her own. Without any lights it was hard to know where they were going or when they would be able to stop. The woods seemed to be never ending. At this time of night Grace wasn't sure how long she would last. Cedric, on the other hand, seemed like he could run all the way to Hogwarts without stopping for breath.

On the off chance that they would find some escape soon, Grace began scanning the woods, looking at the trees, the ground, anything. It was all a black blur.

"There!" Grace exclaimed, before flicking her eyes back to check the pair chasing them hadn't heard her. There was a flowery bush near them that rose higher than both of their heads. Without another word, Cedric dragged Grace behind it, pulling her close.

A minute later and two tall wizards in dark robes without masks sprinted past them. One of them was definitely Callidus Minos and the other looked enough like him to be his older brother or cousin. Grace watched them disappear with baited breath, squeezing Cedric's hand so tight that she was sure it must be hurting him.

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It was over an hour later when a calm seemed to descend over the woods. Grace and Cedric were still crouching behind the bush, their legs starting to cramp and their hearts aching. Cedric had one arm around Grace's shoulders, resting there as they waited.

"It sounds like everything's alright now," Cedric said, peering around the bush.

"Yeah, yeah, we should probably get back," Grace said, getting to her feet and stretching her arms behind her back. "Fred and George will probably be worried. I know they don't seem like it but they actually do care a lot."

"Is that why they don't like me?" Cedric asked. He sounded both disappointed and curious at the twins' horrible behaviour.

"Oh no, that's just them being pricks," Grace explained. "They never got over that one time you beat them at Quidditch."

Cedric chuckled. They walk side by side in the dark, heading back towards the campsite. There were still a few stragglers running back to their families, many of them with bruises, cuts or torn clothing. They were all sending worried glances up towards the sky, where an eerie green shadow covered the woods.

"What's that?" Grace asked, frowning curiously at the tops of the trees that prevented her from seeing the sky.

"It looks like- well never mind- I can't see it properly to be sure," Cedric replied worriedly.

Grace's heart stopped. She was sure that it was all over for the night. It had to be over. But there was something in Cedric's voice, something that he wasn't telling her, that made her think that there was more to come.

They made the rest of the surprisingly short walk in silence. Cedric's eyes were now flicking up whenever he thought that Grace wasn't looking but if she caught his eye, he would give her a reassuring smile and keep walking.

A crowd of despondent families waited for them at the end of the woods. Grace scanned through the different faces, trying to find two identical heads of red. She caught sight of the huge group huddled together in front of their tent right when George brought his head up and saw her.

"Grace!" he exclaimed, running forward and hugging her tight. "Oh, Godric, I thought you were gone."

"George!" Grace laughed. "I'm fine!"

"Just making sure I didn't lose my favourite girl," he whispered in her ear before releasing her and letting Fred envelop her in his arms. Grace smiled and hugged him back.

"What happened?" George demanded. "One second you were there and then you had just disappeared."

"I don't know George. There were heaps of people there; I just lost grip of your hand. Then Cedric was there and some more Death Eaters. Its fine, really, Cedric heard them and we got away. It's really not that bad. I wouldn't have done it without Cedric though."

"Thanks mate," Fred said to Cedric in awe.

"Yeah," George echoed. "Guess you're not as bad as we thought."

"George!" Grace scolded, whacking him on the shoulder.

"What? That was a good thing! Damn it woman, stop hitting me!"

"I should go. My dad's probably looking for me," Cedric said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "I'll see you at school."

"Thank you," Grace told him. "I don't think I would've made it through this night alone."

"It was nothing, I'm just glad I could be there for you."

Grace gave him a tight smile. Cedric gave the twins a final wave before he turned and made his way through the throngs of people to the next field over. She turned to the twins and looked over the group, gasping when she noticed that it was smaller than before.

"Where are Ron, Harry and Hermione?"

"They're not back yet."

"What?"

"Grace," Fred said hesitantly. "Haven't you seen the sky?"

At last, after all that time walking under the trees, Grace bent her neck back and saw what was causing the green shadow. There, hovering in the sky, was a skull with a giant snake sliding in and out of its mouth, casting a horrifying light over the fields.

"Oh Merlin," Grace breathed.

**Please review with any comments, questions or advice! Next one won't take as long I promise. **


	5. Raise Your Glass

**You know, I'm sure it's technically still Friday in some part of the world. So this counts as uploading on a Friday? **

**The next chapter is 70% written but it is exam week and frankly studying for my four exams takes priority. **

**Enjoy!**

Chapter Five- Raise Your Glass

"That's his mark, isn't it?" Grace established, staring up at the mark and starting to shake.

Fred and George nodded, confirming her worst fear without a word.

"It's just a mark, though," Grace whispered. "It- it doesn't mean anything."

Fred and George exchanged looks behind Grace's head. Grace didn't notice anything but kept on staring up at the sky like it would somehow bring Ron, Harry and Hermione back to them.

"C'mon, we should get back to the tent," Fred said, grabbing Grace's arm and steering her away.

They filed back into the tent and Grace observed the damage down to the family. Bill sat at the table, holding a sheet to his heavily bleeding arm, Charlie had a large rip in his shirt that showed a glimpse of his tanned and toned chest and Percy looked like his nose was broken. Ginny looked up when they entered and gave Grace a relieved smile.

"Here, let me help you with that," Grace offered, approaching Bill and pulling her wand out. He opened his mouth to protest with a slightly alarmed look in his eyes. "I volunteer in the hospital wing. Madam Pompfrey taught me how to treat this type of stuff," she went on to explain."

Still looking wary, Bill allowed her to step forward and heal the large cut down his left arm. Once she was finished they waited in anxious silence for Harry, Ron and Hermione to return. She launched herself at Harry, giving Ron and Hermione a hug as well before sitting back down to listen to their story. She didn't comment on anything she heard but contemplated it in her head, thinking over all the implications of the attack straight after the pain in Harry's scar. She, Ginny and Hermione went back to their tent later in a daze. It was hardly surprising that she woke up earlier than the others from a nightmare, flashing with green light and echoing with terrifying laughter.

It took them less than an hour to pack up the tent and wait the busy queue for a Portkey out of there before they were back in Ottery St Catchpole. Mrs Weasley met them in the driveway of the Burrow in absolute hysterics, pulling the twins into a suffocating hug.

"I went shopping for all of your school supplies yesterday while you were gone. Your list says you need dress robes so I bought you boys some new ones but I thought you might want to go shopping for your own in Hogsmeade, girls," Mrs Weasley told them after she had recovered and both Mr Weasley and Percy had gone back to work. "Your OWL results arrived too, by the way."

Grace gasped and leaped up to accept the envelope that Mrs Weasley was offering her, tearing it open immediately. Her eyes widening in surprise, Grace read:

_Ordinary Wizarding Level Results_

_Pass Grades-_

_Outstanding (O) _

_Exceeds Expectations (E) _

_Acceptable (A) _

_Fail Grades-_

_Poor (P)_

_Dreadful (D)_

_Troll (T)_

_Grace Lily Potter has achieved:_

_Astronomy A_

_Care of Magical Creatures E_

_Charms O_

_Defence Against the Dark Arts E_

_Muggle Studies D_

_Herbology O_

_History of Magic A_

_Potions O_

_Transfiguration E _

"How'd you go?" George asked, leaning over her shoulder.

"Good," Grace said in disbelief. "I did good."

"Of course you did," Fred said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"How'd you go then?" Grace frowned. She attempted to peer over at the twins' results but George folded over their letter before she Mrs Weasley could see.

"Good, good," he answered hastily. "We did good."

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"I don't get it," George said. The twins sat on the end of Grace's camp bed in Ginny's room on their last day of the holidays while she repacked her trunk to go spend the night at Miranda's house. "Why can't we come?"

"It's a _girls'_ night, George," Grace told him for the umpteenth time.

"Exactly. A bunch of girls in skimpy pyjamas having sexy pillow fights," Fred said dreamily.

"Fred!" Grace scolded. "These are your best friends you're talking about. Who else did you think was coming?"

"Well I was thinking Miranda was going to be there," Fred replied, grinning devilishly.

Grace threw her pillow at him.

"What exactly are you going to be doing then?" George questioned. He grabbed her packed trunk and proceeded to carry it down the stairs for her.

"Don't say anything," Grace started cautiously. "But Miranda's parents are out at a work meeting tonight and she has full access to their Firewhisky."

"So you're going to get crunked?" George finished for her with a wicked smile.

"Who's getting crunked?" Fred asked, bounding down the stairs behind them.

Grace just shook her head, letting a small giggle escape before walking down to the kitchen to say goodbye and thank you to the Weasleys. Even after George joined her, Fred stayed on the stairs, frowning to himself.

"I'm still confused!" he yelled after them. "What's going on?"

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"You girls excited?" Grace inquired while she helped Miranda carry their bags of lollies inside the house.

"I dunno . . ," Lara eyed off the bottles of Ogden's Old Firewhisky Miranda had placed on the table. "Isn't Firewhisky the strongest magical alcohol?"

"And the best! But we'll only have a small bit, Lara" Ciara promised.

"Speak for yourself," Miranda muttered, making Grace grin.

"Love, we do have the train trip tomorrow," Trina reminded her gently.

Miranda, Grace and Ciara caught each other's eyes, scowling lightly.

"Hey Grace, I heard about what happened to your brother at the World Cup. Is he alright?" Hannah asked, changing the subject.

"Oh yeah, yeah he's fine," Grace assured her. "I think Mrs Weasley was more shook up than any of us that were there. Especially since she had told Fred and George off about their joke stuff the day we left."

"We stayed a few fields over and didn't see much of it at all," Ciara commented.

"It was awful," Trina shuddered. "Everything was on fire and all you could hear were children crying and Death laughing. Our tent was right in the middle of it. There was no way we could get out so we just had to hide in the ruins of a tent the whole time."

"Our family managed to get out alright," Hannah said. "Mum and dad were so scared for Julia so they side apparated us out of there straight away."

"We weren't so lucky," Grace said, sinking onto the couch. "I got lost in the woods before it was all over. Fred and George thought I was dead."

Nobody spoke. During the moment of silence, George came bounding down the stairs from his room, giving them all smiles and hugs.

"Alright, I'm gonna grab my dinner then stay in my room," he announced when he had greeted everyone. "Have fun with your drinking."

"He knows?" Hannah gasped; her eyes flicking between George and Miranda who shrugged her shoulders.

"He knows everything."

Ten minutes later George was securely hidden up in his room, the girls were snuggled up in blankets in front of the fireplace and each had a tiny glass of Firewhisky set on the table before them.

"Ready?" Miranda questioned, reaching for her glass.

"Ready," confirmed the other five girls.

With hesitant, excited and apprehensive glances, they each tossed back their glasses. The liquid disappeared almost instantly down Grace's throat, burning and searing along the way, until it left her veins on fire. She gasped for breath.

All of the girls had similar reactions. Ciara and Miranda clutched each other, gagging. Lara and Hannah were coughing and reaching for the same jug of water. Trina sat next to Grace, leaning forwards and choking on her own uncontrollable laughter.

"I have a question for y'all," Trina proclaimed.

She had finally stopped laughing. Everyone else had caught their breath back. Grace was already reaching for the bottle again, pouring more out for Ciara, Miranda and herself.

"Go on," Lara prompted.

"If you had to date someone in our group and had no other choice, who would you date?" Trina asked.

"Ugh," Ciara groaned, accepting her second glass and downing it. "Do we have to?"

"Well I would date Fred," Miranda declared. Grace noticed that the glass she had just given her was empty. "He's quite gorgeous actually and he has this secretly hot body from Quidditch that I would just love to run my hands over. And those eyes! The greenness stares into your soul! Did I mention how lovely his smile is? It's the most perfect smile in the world."

"She's barely had two glasses," Grace murmured in Trina's ear.

"Actually I kinda agree," Trina voiced. "I would date either of the twins if it weren't for Ollie. They're not bad looking."

"Is looks really all you're basing this on?" Grace said incredulously, staring at Trina.

"No!" she defended. "They're nice guys too!"

"Wait, Miranda, do you mean you would date either of the twins or just Fred?" Hannah questioned.

Miranda drank her third glass of Firewhisky and shuddered before answering, "I mean just Fred. George is amazingly attractive sure but I think I'm closer to Fred. One's a brotherly friend and the other's more than that."

"You realize this was a hypothetical question?" Trina asked. "Like if our group was the last on Earth, not pick a boy out of all the Earth."

"Sorry," Miranda apologized. "I just can't really ignore it anymore."

Giggles echoed around the room at her confession.

"Hang on, if Miranda gets Fred, does that mean you choose George?" Ciara asked Grace after gulping down her third glass and gagging again. "After all you two act enough like a couple."

Grace's eyes widened and she downed the rest of her drink.

"No! I swear we're not! George is too much of a player for that and he's just like my brother and I'm like his sister," Grace rambled, waving her empty glass around. "Jesse! I chose Jesse! He has that whole, quiet, arty thing going on. It's sexy. I would do that."

"Actually you have a fair point there," Lara agreed. "Jesse's quite cute and he's not as reckless as the others. He would be my choice if I had to."

"Blah blah blah, it's all so sweet but are we just going to ignore everything Grace just said?" Miranda commented. "_Clearly_ there there's something juicy going on there."

"There's nothing going on there," Grace said firmly. "George just . . . he doesn't see it that way. So neither do I."

Quiet followed her proclamation for a couple of minutes.

"Alright who's next?" Trina asked loudly. "Ciara you haven't answered.

"Oh . . . Well . . . um," Ciara mumbled, reaching for the bottle again. "Neither has Hannah!"

The rest of the girls' eyes shifted from staring at Ciara to a surprised Hannah.

"What? Ciara!" she exclaimed. "Well then, if I had to choose someone, I would date Cedric."

"Diggory?" Trina confirmed. "Na-uh. Choices were Lee, Fred, George and Jesse."

"Cedric should count as in our group," Grace argued. "I spent time hiding out with him during the Quidditch World Cup and he's quite an amazing guy."

Hannah seemed to be the only one agreeing with her words, judging by her giggles.

"That doesn't mean he's in our group. In case you haven't realised the boys have that weird Quidditch grudge against him," Lara pointed out. "And you're the only one who has actually talked to him."

"But-," Grace and Hannah protested.

"Nope!" Miranda shouted, shaking her head. "Choose one of the four Hannah."

"None of them," Hannah insisted. "I just want Cedric."

The girls looked at each other before once again giggling their heads off.

"Okay, okay," Grace gasped. "Ciara, your go."

"Do I have to?" Ciara whined, playing with her empty glass. "I don't want any of them."

"Yeah, most of us don't," Lara laughed.

"But, seriously, I wouldn't choose any of the boys," Ciara complained. "I wouldn't choose any _boy_ full stop."

"Oh," Trina said, realisation dawning on her face. "That's great and all but you still need to answer the question. There are technically more than just boys in our group."

"Fine, then, Hannah," Ciara answered. "Cuz she's beautiful and the nicest person I've ever met. You guys happy?"

The rest of the girls nodded enthusiastically, giving Ciara wide smiles. Finally everyone had answered the question, taking over an hour. They sat quietly in their blankets, nibbling on chocolates and adjusting their pillows.

"You know, nobody picked Lee," Ciara commented. "I know from experience that's he's not that bad."

"We'll take your word on that," Miranda grimaced. "He's great and all but I think he is sleeping with every other girl Hogwarts has to offer."

"Yeah, well, he's still a- a- a," Lara started before she broke into a huge yawn. "An amazing friend."

"Maybe we should sleep," Hannah suggested. "After all we still have school tomorrow."

"You're right, you're right," Miranda grumbled, starting to extinguish what few lights they had on while everybody else snuggled into their blankets. The fire crackled loudly next to them as they lay in peace, finally falling to the effects of the alcohol and deflating sugar high.

"I love you guys so much," Grace murmured to her half-asleep friends. "Every single one of you."

**Please review with any comments, questions or advice. **


	6. The Distance

**Would any of you mind it if I changed my posting day to Saturday instead? I seem to be posting late most of the time anyway and I now have Youth after school on Friday and should probably start going to the gym before it starts. **

**BUT I am now on holidays for four weeks and don't have any assessment to worry about whatsoever. I'll be away for one week with no wifi or laptop but hopefully I'll get the chapter done before then. **

Chapter Six- The Distance

Grace's head was pounding in the morning. She swore she had only two glasses of Firewhisky last night. Maybe three. It was lucky she hadn't had anymore.

She and Lara were the only ones awake. The other girls lay sprawled around them with mouths open and hair falling into their faces. Grace caught Lara's eye and had a silent laugh at their sleeping friends.

"Up you get, girls!" Yvette called from the kitchen, pointing her wand to throw open the curtains. Grace groaned at the bright light and buried her face back into her pillow. "Train leaves in two hours."

"Do we have to?" Miranda replied, her voice muffled from her pillow.

"Unless you want to skip your sixth year of school."

More groans came from the girls. It took them a few more minutes but somehow they did manage to get up and drag themselves to the kitchen for some breakfast. Not without Grace tripping over her blankets on the way first. Trina just carried hers with her, sleepily rubbing at her eyes.

"Well at least you girls weren't still awake when Martin and I got home," Yvette sighed, piling eggs onto their plates. "Coffee'll be ready in a minute."

"Mmm," Miranda moaned, once her mother was out of earshot. "Perfect hangover breakfast."

Her statement was met with murmurs of agreement and sighs of content. The girls took at least half an hour to slurp their coffee and stuff more eggs into their mouths before Yvette emerged from her room and jostled them into action.

"Quick, quick, girls, can't be late. Where _is_ George?"

With that, she left them once again, storming up the stairs to chase George down.

In the next hour the whole Heathridge household, plus their five guests were crammed into the magically enhanced car with their trunks. It certainly was a painful journey. Even with an extra row hidden in the car, it wasn't meant to fit nine. Which was why, when Martin appeared in front of two cars for a park, all of the Hogwarts students tumbled out, gasping for breath.

"Got your stuff?" Martin checked, discreetly summoning a couple of luggage carts over. "Let's see if we can meet up with the Weasleys before we have to go."

Together the large group of witches and wizards headed towards platform nine and three quarters, parting the crowds with ease. Once there, Yvette stopped and turned to face the girls.

"I expect we'll lose track of all of you once we go through the barrier so have a wonderful term and don't let the teachers get you down," she said.

"Thank you so much for letting us stay, Mrs Heathridge," Grace told her.

"It's always a pleasure, Gracie," Yvette smiled. "Come back any time, all of you."

Grace smiled at her and gave her a quick hug before rolling her luggage cart over to the barrier with Trina, Lara, Ciara and Hannah. Miranda stayed behind with her family.

Lara and Hannah had already disappeared through the barrier to the platform when they heard a deep, Scottish voice call out from behind, "Trina!"

Turning around they saw the ex-Gryffindor Quidditch captain, Oliver Wood, jogging up to them. Graduation was working well for him, judging by the light behind his smile and the ease in his gait.

"Ollie!" Trina squealed, wrapping her arms around her boyfriend.

"Hey love," he murmured, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. Even when she eventually pulled away, his arm stayed around her waist.

"How's it going, Oliver?" Ciara asked. "Had any Quidditch offers yet?"

"Puddlemere United," he announced proudly. "Trials are coming up this week and I've been given a chance. Didn't see you at the World Cup, thought you would have been there."

"Trust me, we were there," Ciara assured him. "I'd never miss it for the world. But since we got there a week early, our campsite was further away. I didn't see anybody at all."

"Ah well it was still a great game," Oliver shrugged.

Grace and Ciara nodded in agreement. They didn't miss the longing looks Trina was giving him as he talked. "You guys make sure you keep that Quidditch cup in McGonagall's office, you hear? I'm trusting you to lead them to victory, Ciara."

"Oh I promise I will," Ciara replied, smirking slightly.

"I'll make sure none of them drop their game," Grace promised him. She caught Trina's eyes as she nodded towards the barrier desperately. "It's been great seeing you Oliver but I think we'll leave you two alone."

With a wink at Trina, Grace grabbed Ciara's hand and spun her towards the barrier.

"Good luck at the trials, Ollie!" Ciara said over her shoulder while Grace dragged her away. "Don't be late for the train, Tryn!"

The words had barely left Ciara's mouth when they melted through the barrier onto Platform Nine and Three Quarters and were immediately engulfed by the students and parents already there.

"Reckon we should try to find a carriage first or the Weasleys?" Grace asked.

"Weasleys won't have boarded the train yet. You know what they're like," Ciara said, bumping into a swarm of second year girls with her trunk. "Let's just dump all of our stuff then meet up with them."

It was difficult to move their way over to the train but once they arrived there, hauling their trunks on board, it was surprisingly empty. Everyone was still outside with their families. So it was their pick of the prime carriages, not the stuffy leftovers at the back of the train.

"Six trips to Hogwarts and we've never had such a nice compartment," Ciara sighed.

"Come on, let's go," Grace said, rolling her eyes. "It's just a compartment."

She gave her trunk one last shove onto the rack and walked out, Ciara catching up quickly.

"I don't think you understand, Gracie," Ciara tried to explain. "It's actually quiet there and it'll stay quiet! No more annoying third years running up and down the corridor. And we get the first pick from the sweets trolley! None of that 'I'm sorry miss we don't have any chocolate frogs left' garbage."

Ciara was cut off as they both collided with a tall boy wearing Hufflepuff robes and a prefect's badge.

"Cedric!" Grace greeted.

"Grace, Ciara, sorry I didn't see where I was going," he apologized with a smile.

"Nah, Cedric, don't worry about it," Grace replied. "How are you? Haven't seen you since the World Cup."

"I'm good, guess I'm still in shock from that night."

"Hey, Grace, I'll meet you out there okay?" Ciara told Grace, excusing herself from the conversation.

"Oh, yeah, yeah, see you," Grace said, turning back to Cedric. "I know the feeling. It's so scary to think that something like that could happen."

"How are you going then?" he asked worriedly.

"Well apart from that part, I'm alright. Tired though, we had a bit of a late night at Miranda's."

"Ah," he nodded. "Makes sense. Have you heard about what's happening at school?"

"No!" Grace gasped. "Mr Weasley, Percy, Bill and Charlie wouldn't tell us a thing."

"Neither would my dad," Cedric informed her. "Wonder what it is."

"Must be something good," Grace guessed.

"Hey, Ced!" shouted one of the Hufflepuff from down the corridor. "You coming mate?"

"I'll be one minute!" Cedric shouted back. "We'll find out about this big event soon enough anyways. See you around at school?"

Juggling with his trunk, Cedric held a hand out to her. Grace took one look at it and nodded. She grabbed his hand, rough and strong from Quidditch, and shook it once.

"Yeah, see you around."

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"So trials for Puddlemere, hey?" Trina asked Ollie, nudging his arm gently. "You didn't mention that."

Ollie took a deep breath, looking anywhere but Trina's eyes.

"Tryn, the thing is . . . the trials are down South and if I got in there would be a training camp up there too . . . So I would barely get to visit you."

As much as she tried to control it, Trina's face fell. Ciara had warned her about this, told her not to get attached to someone who was always going to leave. But she couldn't help it. Trina knew it had to happen. Neither one of them would be able to survive a long-distance relationship without leaving school or work. And Oliver wouldn't do it. He would never be able to do that to her, never be able to end things between them. It was the best for him though, to let him go off and achieve his Quidditch dream without worrying about leaving her behind.

So she had to do it.

"Ollie, sweetie, I think we should take a break."

"I know," Oliver sighed. "I wish it didn't have to be like this."

"C'mon, it's not a bad thing," Trina encouraged, nudging his arm. "You get to see the world, be the star Keeper, and maybe even get some Welsh girls. I'll concentrate on my NEWTs and starting a career. Then we'll see each other again."

"It's not the end of us though," he stated, pulling her hand close to brush his thumb against the promise ring she still wore. "We promised remember?"

"I would never forget."

"You should get going, you know, don't want to miss the train."

Trina reached up and wrapped her arms around the tall boy's neck, pulling him down so his lips crashed into hers. Their bodies melded together in sync as Trina's hands wandered up to tangle in his hair and Oliver's kept a firm grip on her lower back.

It was passionate, it was sweet, it was everything their relationship had been. Gently Oliver pulled away, letting Trina maintain a loose grip on his hands as she walked away, until she was too far away. Their grip was lost and she disappeared through the barrier.

"Goodbye Ollie," she murmured. Her words were lost in the noise around. One hand reached up to wipe her eyes absentmindedly.

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Ciara was right about the carriage being quieter. Even though the sixth year Gryffindor boys provided enough noise to make up for it, there weren't any screaming younger students outside that Lara had to deal with, at least not until she went on patrol. They were surrounded by other sixth years and seventh years that were at least slightly more mature than the other years.

"So what are your plans for the new Quidditch season, captain?" Fred inquired to Ciara. He and George sat lounging in the corner across from Miranda and Grace. According to them, Grace was lucky she hadn't left with the Weasleys that morning as it was chaotic and confusing. Percy, Bill and Charlie were still making cryptic hints about the event happening at Hogwarts the whole time too.

"Captain?" Ciara repeated. "I didn't get the letter."

"Huh," Fred said, turning to Hannah.

"I didn't get anything either," she said, shaking her head.

"But Katie wouldn't get the captaincy," George frowned. "She's a year below us and we've all been on the team longer."

"Harry maybe?" Hannah suggested. "He'd have earned it."

"He didn't get it," Grace told them. Harry would have mentioned that to her.

"It could have something to do with whatever the hell is going on at Hogwarts," Miranda said.

"Do you think it's the same thing that we need dress robes for?" Lara wondered aloud. She had overheard Yvette muttering about all of the preparations for it this morning. "Maybe the Ministry is doing something fancy at Hogwarts and involving all the students."

"Nah, I doubt it," George disagreed.

"Dad made it sound like more fun than that," Fred added.

"Does _anyone _know what it is?" Ciara asked in exasperation, looking around at any of them whose parents worked at the Ministry. A resounding echo of 'no's answered. "Like seriously what needs that much preparation, dress robes and secrecy?"

"Tryn, what do you reckon?" Grace asked leaning forward to look at their friend curled up in a ball and staring glassy-eyed out the window. "Mysterious Ministry work that's concerning our school and making us buy pretty clothes? Normally you'd have an opinion on something like that."

"I don't really care about anything going on at school if Ollie's not there," she mumbled, playing with the ring on her finger. Her friends stayed quiet, not really sure what to say.

"So how'd everyone go on their OWLs?" Lee asked loudly. The carriage was filled with the sound of groans. "What? It's not like any of you guys failed."

"I didn't pass History of Magic," Miranda pointed out.

"Nobody passed History of Magic," George snorted. "Except Gracie."

"'Scuse you, we all passed as well," Ciara interjected, waving her arm around to indicate most of the girls.

"I'm sorry, I forgot we were surrounded by a bunch of Ravenclaws," George scowled.

"Um we didn't pass everything, Georgie," Grace told him. "None of us actually passed Muggle Studies."

"Yeah, we're talking about the useful stuff, though," Fred argued. "We have about six OWLs between us."

"Who even cares though?" Miranda groaned, collapsing against the back of her seat. "We all know you guys are clever so why do you need some Ministry examiner to tell you as well? It's all a load of bullshit."

With that, Lara and Grace joined in on her rant, even getting Trina to look interested. The boys laughed around them and made jokes, leading them to forget about their own results.

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Ciara was also right that the sweets trolley would come to them earlier if they sat were they did. Right as the rain poured down the windows and they couldn't see a thing without a lantern, the trolley rolled past them, full to the brim with sweets that hadn't been bought yet.

"Isn't this the life?" Ciara moaned, stealing a Cauldron Cake from their pile in the middle.

For the next few hours they complained about the upcoming term of hard work, speculated what could be happening at Hogwarts and discussed all of Fred and George plans for destruction. It was quiet and settled. Before long their pile of food had disappeared.

Lara left with an hour of the trip to go so she could patrol the train for troublemakers. She came back frowning and telling everybody that they would arrive at Hogsmeade soon. So the girls sent the boys away so they could get changed into their Hogwarts robes in peace.

They stepped out onto the Hogsmeade station with their robes pulled over their head, squinting to see further than a few steps ahead.

"Hey, cannonball!" Lee yelled, jumping into a puddle right near Lara's feet.

"Lee!" she shrieked, dodging away when he tried to hug her.

"Isn't your little sister starting this year?" Grace asked Hannah over the noise.

"Yeah, I hope they can make it across the lake in this weather," Hannah replied, pulling her cloak tighter around her body.

"Can we just get to a carriage?" Ciara yelled as another clap of thunder could be heard overhead. "Before we all freeze?"

**Please review with any comments, questions or advice. **


	7. Holy Ground

**Sorry, sorry ,sorry! I missed last Saturday didn't I? Whoops. **

**This one took a while and trust me there's a twist at the end. But don't worry it is essential to the plot and all will be revealed in the next chapter. **

**By the way I stayed up late before I had an early flight to finish this so you should all be grateful.**

**All credits for lyrics of songs go to Wheatus and Fall Out Boy. **

Chapter Seven- Holy Ground

Pulling up the hoods of their cloaks, Grace and her fellow Gryffindor sixth years stepped into the Entrance Hall, immediately slipping over the puddles of water spreading of the doorway. Grace's feet skidded as she attempted to step over a puddle only to plant her feet on equally slippery stone. Lara grabbed at her arm from behind for balance, gripping tightly until they were both standing straight. With every one of them holding onto another's arm or hand, they made their way over to the Great Hall, trying to avoid the larger puddles and splashing through the smaller ones.

"How in Merlin's name did the floor even get this wet?" Ciara asked, grimacing when water soaked through her boots.

"I'm gonna make a guess and say Peeves," Trina said, eyeing off the remains of a red balloon.

"Genius," Fred and George said together with identical grins on their faces.

"If you dare fill any water balloons up tonight I swear to Godric Gryffindor I will kill you," Miranda threatened.

"Come on, the quicker we get inside and get seated, the quicker the sorting will end and we'll get food," Lara told them all reasonably, guiding them all into the hall.

Compared to the wet, dimly lit Entrance Hall, the Great Hall was like a scene of paradise. Brightly flaming candles hovered about the sparkling gold plates and goblets. The house colours hung from banners on the walls and lay on the tables in the form of table cloths. At the end of the hall, above the staff table, was the Hogwarts symbol of a badger, lion, snake and eagle surrounding an ornate H with the school motto written underneath.

"Hey," Grace greeted, sliding into the seat next to Harry.

"Hey," he said back, distractedly. "Have you seen the missing seat?"

"What? Is the new Defence teacher late?" Grace asked, looking up to scan the table for herself as her friends moved into the seats around her. Her eyes moved over Professor Flitwick on his pile of cushions, Professor Sprout struggling to contain her grey hair with her hat and Professor Snape looking as murderous as usual but no new teachers. Hagrid and Professor McGonagall were still out in the rain bringing the first years in. There was still another seat unaccounted for; the same seat that Remus had sat in last year.

Lara sighed besides her, "Wow, great sign if they don't even turn up to the Start of Year Feast."

"That's if Dumbledore could actually get somebody," Miranda snorted from opposite Grace.

"Oh hurry up," Ron moaned, interrupting their conversation, on the other side of Harry. "I could eat a Hippogriff."

No sooner had he spoken than the doors of the Great Hall opened and McGonagall entered. All of the students fell silent as McGonagall led the first years up to the staff table. Trina and Hannah sent pitying looks towards the dripping wet eleven-year-olds who were shaking in their cloaks. One of them even wore Hagrid's moleskin coat.

Grace watched, slightly bored and with a rumbling stomach, as McGonagall brought the sorting hat out and placed on a three legged stool. After a second the tear near the brim broke wide open and started singing:

_A thousand years or more ago, When I was newly sewn, There lived four wizards of renown, Whose names are still well known:_

_Bold Gryffindor, from wild moor, Fair Ravenclaw, from glen, Sweet Hufflepuff, from valley broad, Shrewd Slytherin, from fin._

_They shared a wish, a hope, a dream, They hatched a daring plan To educate young sorcerers Thus Hogwarts School began._

_Now each of these four founders Formed their own house, for each Did value different virtues In the ones they had to teach._

_By Gryffindor, the bravest were Prized far beyond the rest; For Ravenclaw, the cleverest Would always be the best; For Hufflepuff, hard workers were Most worthy of admission; And power-hungry Slytherin Loved those of great ambition._

_While still alive they did divide Their favourites from the throng, Yet how to pick the worthy ones When they were dead and gone?_

_'Twas Gryffindor who found the way, He whipped me off his head The founders put some brains in me So I could choose instead!_

_Now slip me snug about your ears, I've never yet been wrong, I'll have a look inside your mind And tell where you belong!_

Grace clapped along tiredly when the song ended.

"I swear even if the song's different, it sounds exactly the same every single year," she groaned, ignoring the sorting ceremony.

"The hat can't exactly get much inspiration from being in Dumbledore's office all year round," Miranda commented.

"You kidding?" George asked her. "His office is probably the most exciting part of the castle, excepting the great hall. It's where all the delinquents go after all."

"Really George?" Lara questioned. "How often have you two been in that much trouble you got sent to Professor Dumbledore's office?"

"There was that one time in third year," George started.

"When you blew up the toilet?" Trina frowned.

"Yeah, apparently some Slytherin got hurt," Fred added. "Not our fault though, we set it off in the middle of class."

The girls around the twins all looked at them incredulously.

"What actually happened to that toilet seat that you stole?" Ciara wondered.

"Gave it to Harry when he was in the hospital wing," George answered.

"I think Pompfrey took it," Fred frowned. "Harry never mentioned it."

"Right, cuz when you're in the hospital wing, a toilet seat is the most important thing on your mind," Grace said, shaking her head.

"Hey! It's a unique gift!" Fred protested.

"Whatever," Ciara said, rolling her eyes. "I wish this sorting would be over."

"They're already on the Ps," Hannah informed them as she had been diligently watching the first years. "There's only two of them left."

"Oh thank god," Miranda sighed.

Finally "Whitby, Kevin" got sorted into Hufflepuff and Dumbledore stood with welcoming arms, smiling down at them all.

"I have only two words to say," he announced, his voice echoing around the attentively listening hall. "Tuck in."

"Hear, hear!" Harry and Ron said next to Grace. She laughed at them and prepared to dig in for herself when the food began to appear in front of them.

Around them everyone began to eat with gusto. Fred and George were stuffing their own faces with chicken wings. The chipolatas disappeared before Grace could even grab a second one. A few minutes after they had started eating Grace's hand began to feel damp where it was sitting on the tablecloth and she looked up to find Hermione had knocked over her goblet of pumpkin juice.

"Oh bloody hell, I hope this rain stops," Trina grumbles, poking her Yorkshire puddings. "I was planning on lazing round by the lake until I got over Ollie."

"Now you're just going to have to sit at a window and stare miserably out at the weather," Ciara commented with a theatrical sigh. "What a tragedy."

Grace looked up at the sky, flashing with lightning and bucketing down with rain. The dark sky lit up at the exact moment the first course vanished and were replaced seamlessly by pudding.

"Hermione, are you having any of that chocolate gateau?" Grace asked, eyeing off the rich dessert.

"You can have it all," Hermione replied curtly, turning up her nose at the food and passing it down. Ron rolled his eyes at her.

"Are you sure?" Grace said hesitantly.

"I don't feel like eating anymore," Hermione informed her.

"But it's the start of term feast!" Grace protested, slightly bewildered. "You have to have some pudding!"

Hermione shook her head resolutely, staring away from Grace, Harry and Ron, muttering incoherently under her breath. Grace thought she heard the other girl say 'slave labour' but frowned and served herself gateau instead.

When the puddings had been inhaled by everyone around Grace except Hermione and some of the plates were even being licked clean by the twins, Albus Dumbledore got to his feet. The chatter that buzzed through the hall ceased almost immediately, only broken by Miranda's whisper of "reckon we'll get to find out what's going on at last" to which everyone shrugged.

"So!" said Dumbledore over the thunder and roaring wind. "Now that we are all fed and watered. I must once more ask for your attention, while I give out a few notices. Mr. Filch, the caretaker, has asked me to tell you that the list of objects forbidden inside the castle has this year been extended to include Screaming Yo-yos, Fanged Frisbees, and Ever-Bashing Boomerangs. The full list comprises some four hundred and thirty-seven items, I believe, and can be viewed in Mr. Filch's office, if anybody would like to check it."

"Like that'll stop us," Fred and George said together, mischievous grins on their faces.

The corners of Dumbledore's mouth twitched as if he had heard them from his position at the staff table. He continued, "As ever, I would like to remind you all that the forest on the grounds is out-of-bounds to students, as is the village of Hogsmeade to all below third year. It is also my painful duty to inform you that the Inter-House Quidditch Cup will not take place this year."

"What?" Harry gasped. Hannah, Ciara and Lee gaped up at Dumbledore and the twins were in too much shock to even form words, though they tried. Grace and Miranda exchanged disappointed looks before turning back to Dumbledore. He had been forced to wait a few moments to continue after the cries of outrage echoing around the hall.

"This is due to an event that will be starting in October, and continuing throughout the school year, taking up much of the teachers' time and energy - but I am sure you will all enjoy it immensely. I have great pleasure in announcing that this year at Hogwarts -"

This time Dumbledore was cut off by the doors of the Great Hall banging open. There was a flurry of movement as every student tried to see the man standing in the doorway, covered in a black travelling cloak and leaning on a wooden staff. Some were even standing to get a closer look as he shook off the hood of his cloak to let out a mane of grizzled, dark grey hair and limped up to the teachers' table. A dull clunk came with his every step.

"Is that a wooden leg?" Miranda hissed in Grace's ear. She turned to her friend and made a disconcerted face, not exactly sure what to think. They both turned to peer at him closer, only to gasp and recoil backwards when the lightning revealed his face.

His face was deformed and frightening, like something you might see in a Muggle horror movie. There was not an inch of it left unscarred. His mouth was a diagonal gash and his nose had a piece missing. His eyes were even worse, making Grace want to leave her seat and run in the other direction. One was small, dark and beady. The other was large and bright, vivid blue. It moved nonstop, flicking in every direction, while the normal eye stayed still, even turning completely over so all they could see was whiteness.

The man reached Dumbledore, shaking the headmaster's hand with his own scarred one and having a quiet conversation, one that nobody could hear. Grace watched from behind Harry as he sat down to Dumbledore's right and began to eat a sausage from the end of a pocket knife, watching the hall suspiciously all the while.

"May I present our new Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher?" Dumbledore announced brightly, as if his entire student body weren't terrified of the new teacher. "Professor Moody."

"Moody?" Lara repeated. "Like Alastor Moody, the Auror?"

"Maybe," Hannah answered thoughtfully. "Mum and Dad have mentioned him before . . . but I thought he had retired."

"They call him Mad-Eye Moody," George said. "He went a bit mental after he caught a bunch of dark wizards."

"Half the cells in Azkaban are full thanks to him," Fred added for Trina and Grace's benefit. "He's a bloody brilliant wizard. Dad was out helping him this morning, wasn't he, George?"

"Yeah," George confirmed. "Something about exploding dustbins."

They all turned around to watch Mad-Eye drink from a hip flask he had produced from his cloak.

"As I was saying," Dumbledore continued, smiling at them. Grace flicked her eyes back to the Headmaster, still feeling wary and distrustful of Mad-Eye. "We are to have the honour of hosting a very exciting event over the coming months, an event that has not been held for over a century. It is my very great pleasure to inform you that the Triwizard Tournament will be taking place at Hogwarts this year."

"You're JOKING!" Fred said loudly, causing everyone to switch their attention from the new professor to him and make the girls around him laugh.

"I am not joking, Mr. Weasley," Dumbledore said, a twinkle in his eye. "though now that you mention it, I did hear an excellent one over the summer about a troll, a hag, and a leprechaun who all go into a bar." Professor McGonagall cleared her throat pointedly. "Er - but maybe this is not the time . . . no. . . Where was I? Ah yes, the Triwizard Tournament . . . well, some of you will not know what this tournament involves, so I hope those who do know will forgive me for giving a short explanation, and allow their attention to wander freely.

"The Triwizard Tournament was first established some seven hundred years ago as a friendly competition between the three largest European schools of wizardry: Hogwarts, Beauxbatons, and Durmstrang. A champion was selected to represent each school, and the three champions competed in three magical tasks. The schools took it in turns to host the tournament once every five years, and it was generally agreed to be a most excellent way of establishing ties between young witches and wizards of different nationalities -until, that is, the death toll mounted so high that the tournament was discontinued."

"That's so cool!" Ciara whispered. "I don't mind giving up Quidditch for the Triwizard tournament!"

"There have been several attempts over the centuries to reinstate the tournament," Dumbledore continued. "None of which has been very successful. However, our own departments of International Magical Cooperation and Magical Games and Sports have decided the time is ripe for another attempt. We have worked hard over the summer to ensure that this time, no champion will find himself or herself in mortal danger. The heads of Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving with their short-listed contenders in October, and the selection of the three champions will take place at Halloween. An impartial judge will decide which students are most worthy to compete for the Triwizard Cup, the glory of their school, and a thousand Galleons personal prize money."

"I'm going for it!" Fred hissed at them. His face alit with enthusiasm for the reward of glory and riches; he gave Miranda a wink before turning back to Dumbledore for more details. Her eyes widened and she gave a little giggle.

"Eager though I know all of you will be to bring the Triwizard Cup to Hogwarts," Dumbledore said, "the heads of the participating schools, along with the Ministry of Magic, have agreed to impose an age restriction on contenders this year. Only students who are of age - that is to say, seventeen years or older - will be allowed to put forward their names for consideration. This" - Dumbledore raised his voice slightly, for several people had made noises of outrage at these words, and the Weasley twins were suddenly looking furious - "is a measure we feel is necessary, given that the tournament tasks will still be difficult and dangerous, whatever precautions we take, and it is highly unlikely that students below sixth and seventh year will be able to cope with them. I will personally be ensuring that no underage student hoodwinks our impartial judge into making them Hogwarts champion. I therefore beg you not to waste your time submitting yourself if you are under seventeen. The delegations from Beauxbatons and Durmstrang will be arriving in October and remaining with us for the greater part of this year. I know that you will all extend every courtesy to our foreign guests while they are with us, and will give your whole-hearted support to the Hogwarts champion when he or she is selected. And now, it is late, and I know how important it is to you all to be alert and rested as you enter your lessons tomorrow morning. Bedtime! Chop chop!"

Dumbledore sat back down, ignoring the impact of his speech, and turned to speak to Mad-Eye Moody. Chairs banged and scraped against the stone floor when the students all stood to leave. Grace gave Harry and Ron a kiss on the cheek, waved goodbye to the twins, who still stared up at Dumbledore in outrage, and left the hall with Miranda, Ciara, Trina, Lara and Hannah.

"Fancy that, huh, the Triwizard Tournament," Hannah sighed.

"My grandparents always told George and I stories about how amazing it was," Miranda said. They turned away from the stream of students heading for the upper floors and ducked behind a portrait of Merlin to their favourite shortcut to the common room. "I can't believe they're bringing it back."

"Mum always use to tell me when they tried to bring it back," Ciara said with a frown. "That'd explain what we need dress robes for though; there's usually some sort of dance during the tournament."

"Well I guess we all know who Miranda would want to take to that," Grace said slyly, nudging Miranda.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Miranda said. She ducked her head and looked away from her friends.

"Oh yeah, that's what you said last night!" Grace cried. "What was it? 'The greenness of his eyes stare into your soul?'"

"Did they look into your soul when he winked at you too?" Ciara asked.

"Oh shut up, the lot of you," Miranda scowled, stomping up the stairs when they roared with laughter.

"Ollie would have wanted to see the tournament," Trina said wistfully. "He might've even entered."

Lara huffed out a breath, turning around to point a finger at Trina, "Okay, Trin, here's the deal, you can mope all you want for a month, but when October comes and the Durmstrang boys arrive, I don't want to hear another word about Oliver. I know you told him to find a Welsh girl so you should take your own advice and find a boy with a European accent while they're in the castle."

Trina's eyes widened and she took a step down. Speechless, she nodded at Lara. Satisfied, Lara turned around and climbed the last few stairs, stepped out into the corridor and disappeared. The rest of her dorm-mates watched her go with hidden smirks.

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Five days later and Grace was beyond thankful that it was Friday night. Between listening to Fred, George and Lee plan on how to enter the Triwizard Tournament, the reminder of their huge workload, Professor Moody's shocking first lesson, including his transformation of Draco Malfoy into a ferret and Trina's increasingly sour mood, Grace was beat. There was nothing she wanted to do more than join the boys in their dormitory, turn the music up and Honeydukes chocolate before it melted in front of the fire. So that was why, late that night, all of the Gryffindor sixth years could be found in the boys dormitory.

Grace and Miranda sat cross legged on the floor in front of Lee's beat up radio, singing wildly to the music playing from the Wireless Wizarding Network and sharing a bottle of Butterbeer. Fred, George, Lee and Jesse all lounged on their over-stuffed sofa, watching them; each had a Butterbeer in their hands and an amused expression on their face. The other girls were all spread around the room, devouring a box of chocolates between them.

"_This is the road to ruin and we're starting at the end!_" Grace and Miranda finished their song with a giggle. Grace snatched the bottle of Miranda and gulped down the last of the liquid with a gasp. She frowned down at the bottle. It tasted a bit stronger than usual, leaving a fiery taste that she swore only came from Firewhisky.

She leant into Miranda's shoulder, rolling the empty bottle between her fingers. Miranda sighed and grumbled but allowed her to stay. They sat still with their eyes on the boys and listened to the radio host comment on the wonders of Muggle music. Grace was just starting to close her eyes, feeling a sudden drowsiness, when the first chords of a new song started. Her eyes flew back open and she turned to Miranda with a huge grin. Miranda laughed back down at her.

"Her name is Noel," Miranda started singing. "I had a dream about her."

"She rings my bell," Grace continued. "I got gym class in half an hour."

"And oh how she rocks," they sang together. "In Keds and tube socks. But she doesn't know who I am and she doesn't give a damn about me." Grace grabbed Miranda's arms and swung her to her feet, right as the chorus of the song started. "'Cause I'm just a teenage dirtbag baby. Yeah, I'm just a teenage dirtbag baby. Listen to Iron Maiden maybe with me."

"Jesse!" Grace exclaimed, surprised at the stumble in her step towards the boys. "Come dance with me!"

Jesse looked at her warily but allowed himself to be dragged off the sofa. In the effort of lifting up the boy, she stumbled once again, falling into his arms.

"Bit tipsy there, Grace?" Jesse questioned in amusement.

"No," Grace frowned. "Miranda and I only shared a Butterbeer."

Jesse chuckled, lifting her gently so they could sway to the music, "You know Fred and George filled those Butterbeer bottles with Firewhisky so they could smuggle them from the kitchens?'

Grace gaped at him. Miranda sung in the background about Noel's boyfriend.

"Well, fuck," she said. Jesse grinned at her and raised her arms to place them around his neck.

"'Cause I'm just a teenage dirtbag, baby. Yeah, I'm just a teenage dirtbag, baby. Listen to Iron Maiden maybe with me," Miranda continued behind them. She had moved into Jesse's spot on the couch and snuggled up with Fred.

"Oh, yeah, dirtbag, no, she doesn't know what she's missin'," Jesse sung to Grace with a soft smile. "Oh, yeah, dirtbag, no, she doesn't know what she's missin'"

Grace laughed, quirking her eyebrows at Jesse. "Didn't know you could sing."

"You just don't know what you're missing," he said back to her.

"Well keep going then," Grace urged.

Jesse threw back his head to laugh but kept on going with the song, "Man, I feel like mould. It's prom night and I am lonely. Low and behold, she's walking over to me. This must be fake. My lip starts to shake," Jesse pouted his lips, making them quiver. "How does she know who I am? And why does she give a damn about me?"

Grace leaned closer to Jesse, her body lined up against his, and whispered the next lyrics into his ear.

"I've got two tickets to Iron Maiden, baby. Come with me Friday, don't say 'maybe'. I'm just a teenage dirtbag, baby, like you."

She felt Jesse's body stiffen against hers. He gripped at her hips and pulled her back, giving her a look of meaning. The corners of Grace's lips turned up slightly. The next second, without warning, he planted his lips on hers. Grace responded in earnest, moving her lips in time with his and rewrapping her arms around his neck.

It felt like hours had passed before Grace broke away. She would have fallen over if Jesse's hands weren't still on her hips. A wave of dizziness passed over her. She took a deep breath and steadied herself.

Jesse cleared his throat and looked away, dropping his hands and stepping back. The song had finished but neither of them noticed. Grace pursed her lips, taking her hands away from Jesse's neck. His face was flushed. He gave a gulp and took another step back.

"Right, well, I'm just going to-," he stammered, jerking a thumb towards the bathroom and walked away.

Grace sighed. She smiled to herself, lifting one hand to touch her lips softly and wondering what had just happened. The smile didn't leave her face as she walked away from the sofa, holding onto some of the beds for support, and walked out of the room.

She paused at the door, looking back over the scene. Miranda had passed out in Fred's arms on the sofa. The other girls had left for their own dormitory. Lee and George had disappeared into their own beds with the curtains drawn.

In a split second decision, Grace reached down for a piece of parchment and quill. She jotted down a note, folded it in half and left in on Jesse's bedside table with his name on the front. Jesse still hadn't emerged from the bathroom when Grace flicked her eyes back to it so she left the room without another word.

**Please review with any comments, questions and advice! Next update will be over a week away; I'm sorry. **


	8. Say You Like Me

**Oh God, I have been busy. Having a week away just completely wiped me and I've been trying to get this out since. School is back on tomorrow so even though I don't think it'll get crazy for a few weeks, updates may slow down even more. Sorry! **

Chapter Eight- Say You Like Me

The Saturday morning that followed Jesse woke up slowly.

He rolled out of the bed and pushed back the curtains, sitting on the edge of it to rub his eyes and yawn widely. The sunlight peeking through one of the windows shone in his eyes, causing him to blink rapidly. As the sleep cleared from his mind, memories of last night flooded back to him. He groaned and looked around the room sleepily.

Miranda was the only girl still left in their dormitory, not having moved since she and Fred fell asleep on the sofa last night. They had fallen down in their sleep so Miranda was now lying down on top of Fred, very close to falling off the sofa, with his arms wrapped around her chest. The curtains of George and Lee's beds were still closed but Kenneth was striding towards the door from the bathroom, ignoring the others in the room.

The clock on Jesse's bedside table said it was only nine' o' clock. On top of the clock was a neatly folded piece of parchment, torn out of one of Kenneth's notebooks that sat at the end of his bed; Jesse swore that hadn't been there last night. He reached over curiously and unfolded it to read:

_You have a lot of unknown talents; guess I really don't know what I'm missing. I think I'll go and fall asleep now; goodnight my dear Jesse, Grace xxx_

Jesse grinned at the letter, refolded it and stowed it in his bedside table. He stretched his arms above his head as he stood and made his way over to the bathroom. Fred stirred on the sofa when he walked past, looking up at Jesse in wide-eyed happiness at finding Miranda in his arms.

"Good luck getting up now," Jesse told him.

"I don't ever want to get up," Fred replied, staring down at Miranda and tucking a stray hair behind her ear. "I think I'm in some sort of dream."

Jesse shook his head and walked away, silently agreeing with Fred.

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Grace was the last of her friends to wake up an hour later. On the blackboard next to their dormitory door was a message telling her they had all gone to breakfast because she looked like she needed to sleep and they'd meet her in the library later.

Grace groaned and buried her head back in her pillow. She was glad Miranda was the only one who knew what had happened last night otherwise her dorm-mates wouldn't have left her alone without asking a million questions. Right now she wasn't sure what had happened herself. With a deep breath, Grace heaved herself out of bed.

Half an hour later, she was tugging her cardigan around her chest on her way to the lake, thanking Merlin for the miracle that was a hot shower.

For a sunny autumn day with just a bit of a cool breeze, there were surprisingly few people around the grounds. Students from the lower years lay around talking on a thin layer of fallen leaves. Walking past a group of Hufflepuffs tossing a Quaffle between them, Grace sat on a large log near the lake's edge. She pulled her Transfiguration textbook out of her pocket and turned to her bookmarked page, attempting to memorize the pages of theory.

The words were swimming before her eyes. Every time she tried to concentrate on the inner workings of a Vanishing Spell, she could only hear the music from last night. Huffing in annoyance, she shook her head to try and clear it.

Just as she was turning her attention back to her study, one of the Hufflepuff boys detached themselves from the group and came towards her.

"Hey," Cedric greeted. "Mind if I sit?"

"Go right ahead," Grace told him, closing up the book.

"Are you alright?" Cedric asked as he perched himself next to her. "You looked a bit lonely over here."

Grace gave him a tight smile. "Yeah, I guess I'm fine. I'm just thinking over some things."

"Things you want to talk about?"

"I don't know. Do you have much experience with drunken kisses?"

Cedric raised an eyebrow, "Not really, no. Contrary to popular belief, I haven't actually kissed most of the girls in our year."

Grace laughed. "Trust me, I would've heard about it if you had."

Cedric pretend to wince for a minute, causing them both to laugh softly. Their laughter died and they were both left staring out at the lake in silence.

"So was it a random drunken kiss or did it actually mean something more?"

"God, you make me sound like a tart."

"I didn't mean it like that, really, you could have a million drunken kisses and still wouldn't be a tart. I just don't think someone random would make you that caught up."

"True. True," Grace nodded. She paused for a moment. "You know Jesse? The only quiet boy that Fred and George are friends with?"

"Yeah."

"Well we were dancing last night and when the song ended he kissed me . . . and I kissed him back. But I don't know if it was a mistake."

"Why would you think it was?"

"He's a good friend. I don't want us to stop being friends but I don't think my feelings for him are anything more than physical attraction. Like I love him as a friend, not really as anything more."

"Then you don't have to have anything more," Cedric shrugged. "If you're both attracted to each other than do what you want but it doesn't have to go on from there if you don't want it to."

"You don't think that will make things awkward?"

"Not if you don't want it to be," Cedric answered.

"Huh," Grace sighed, staring off into the forest. "Who knew a kiss could cause so much trouble?"

"Hey, everything can cause trouble if you let it," Cedric told her, nudging her side gently.

"Since when were you some sort of love guru?" Grace teased, turning around poke his side. "Has all of the womanly attention finally gone to your head?"

"Ha! No, there's only one girl who's got my attention." Grace raised her eyebrows in interest. "Maybe I'll need your love advice soon."

"Ohhh," Grace winked at him. "I will so be ready to give it."

Cedric rolled his eyes at her, turning when one of his friends yelled his name and waved him over.

"You coming for lunch, Ced?"

"Yeah, give me second," Cedric called back, looking back at Grace. "Do you want to join us?"

"That would be a good idea seeing I missed breakfast."

"We better get you some food quickly then."

He reached out a hand and helped her up off the log, waiting for her to brush the dirt off her jeans before starting towards his group of friends and the castle. All of the Hufflepuffs greeted Grace with frightening enthusiasm. Even Elliot, whom she hadn't spoken to for half a year, gave her a wide smile.

The Hufflepuffs were a relaxed, happy bunch; joking even louder than the Gryffindor boys did at times. They teased Cedric the whole way up to the Great Hall; about his unknown crush that they refused to name with Grace present and his upcoming plans to enter the Triwizard tournament. Grace laughed along with them, pressing for more details about everything.

"C'mon, Ced, half the school is in love with you, of course she is too!" Elliot insisted, making Grace agree with him loudly. Her agreements were stopped when she saw Jesse walking across the Entrance hall with Lee, Ciara and Miranda.

"I'll see you guys later," Grace said, waving goodbye to the Hufflepuffs. "There's someone I've got to talk to."

Grace approached her friends slowly, nervous about what would happen with Jesse. Miranda was the first to notice her walking over, smirking evilly and nudging Ciara to whisper in her eyes. Grace glared at the pair of them, turning her attention to Jesse instead, right as he noticed her in front of him.

"Grace! Where have you been all morning? I wanted to say sorry for last night . . . I don't know what came over me-,"

Grace leaned forward on instinct and pressed her lips against Jesse's mid-sentence. His words were muffled in the kiss. It took a second for him to respond once he realized what was happening but then he was kissing her back eagerly. Grace wasn't sure how long the kiss lasted; only that she broke away when she heard someone wolf-whistle in her ear.

"Lee, _shut up_," Grace said with her eyes on Jesse, cheeks turning red even as she tried to scowl. "You don't have anything to be sorry for you know. I don't think it was a bad thing at all, and I mean . . . it doesn't have to be a one- time thing either. If you want."

Ciara snorted. Grace saw Miranda and Lee exchange smirks. Jesse's eyes widened comically.

"God, yes."

On her way to a seat at the Gryffindor table, Grace caught Cedric's eye, smiling when he gave her a thumbs up. The moment was short lived as Trina, Hannah and Lara came racing in towards her, demanding to know what had happened last night, since Fred's explanation was too vague for them.

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The excitement of that night died quickly but anticipation for the Triwizard Tournament rose. October was drawing closer. The weeks were filled with fiery speculation, plans on how to enter the tournament and piles of NEWT level homework. Grace couldn't understand how she only had five classes; Charms, Defence Against the Dark Arts, Herbology, Potions and Transfiguration, yet the work load was still the same, perhaps even more.

For some reason Grace had immeasurable talent in Potions, though Snape wouldn't acknowledge it. She, Miranda, Trina and the twins had both earned an Outstanding OWL and decided to stay in the NEWT class. Grace wasn't sure why the twins did but it certainly meant that she was left studying with Fred and Trina on a Saturday night.

"How come we're studying and they're playing chess?" Fred complained, gesturing to George and Miranda at the next table over.

"_Because somehow they've finished their essays and you two haven't!"_ Grace cried, letting her frustration boil over. Over the past hour neither of her study companions would concentrate. Fred's gaze flickered constantly to the next table over and Trina simply frowned curiously at him the whole time.

"Fred, can I ask you a question?" Trina piped up, completely ignoring Grace.

"Trina! Honestly! Do you two even care if you fail your NEWTs?" Grace exclaimed to deaf ears.

"Who do you fancy?" Trina continued to question Fred.

Trina's question seemed to bring Fred out of his daze, eyeing Trina and Grace, who had given up on the essay, warily. He paused for a moment, scratching his chin with his quill, and pondered his answer.

"You swear on Godric's grave you won't tell?" he tested.

"We swear," Trina and Grace chorused. Trina stared at Fred with wide eyes while Grace rolled hers impatiently.

"Miranda," Fred admitted. "I fancy Miranda."

Trina's eyes lit up and Grace gave a small giggle despite herself.

"Oh I just remembered I left my notes with Miranda," Trina squealed, leaping out of her chair with a twinkle in her eyes. Grace watched her go, shaking her head.

"Go on then," Fred told Grace. "Aren't you going to tease me?"

"I'm not going to tease you. I'm just wondering why you haven't done anything sooner. I mean you've been like a lovesick puppy for the last few months!"

"I know, I know," Fred sighed. "I just don't know what to do."

"Why not? Am I not talking to Fred Weasley, one of the most well-known ladies men at Hogwarts?"

"But she's not just some girl!" Fred hissed. "This is Miranda! Not only the most beautiful girl I've ever seen but she's smart, funny, kind and . . . perfect."

"So? Fred, you just said it. She's Miranda! She's one of your best friends. Just talk to her like you always do."

Fred scowled, scribbling on the parchment in front of him.

"Hang on a second, aren't these Trina's study notes?"

He swung his head around to look at Miranda and Trina. The latter was whispering in the former's ear, making them both giggle and look over at Fred.

"Oi, you weren't supposed to tell her!" he called across to Trina.

"Oh, you meant not to tell _Miranda_," Trina replied slyly, an innocent look in her eyes.

Grace glanced over at Miranda to find her biting her lip to barely hide a supressed smile that still reached up to her hazel eyes.

"Oh, Merlin what am I supposed to do now?" Fred moaned, burying his face in his hands.

"Fred, stop it," Grace snapped. "You think that Miranda won't be your friend anymore? Or she wouldn't want to go out with you? I'm one of her best friends, Fred, and I can tell how much she likes you. She wants this as much as you do. So sitting here and fearing the worst won't get you anything. If you want this relationship then be a Gryffindor, be a Weasley and just bloody ask her!"

Fred lifted his head, his eyes focusing on the girl in front of him. He steeled his jaw and ran a casual hand through his hair. Grace started frowning when he jumped on their table, kicking her work aside and attracting the attention of the whole common room.

"Miranda Rose Heathridge," he announced, making her look up from her chess game and eye him worryingly. "You are the most beautiful girl in the world and I consider myself lucky just to be your friend. Love, I honestly think you're the best thing that's ever happened to me. I mean, apart from George."

Laughter echoed that statement.

"But seriously, Miranda, I think you're it for me and . . . what I'm trying to get at is: will you go out with me?"

It was almost as if the whole common room was holding their breath. Grace stared at Miranda as a smile broke out over her blushing face.

"Fred, I'll go out with you if you get off that table," she answered.

The Gryffindors erupted into cheers for the happy couple. Fred stepped off the table with ease and sauntered over to sit next to his new girlfriend. Grace grinned, giving Jesse a wink and went to tidy their work off the floor, not noticing George's eyes resting on her.

**Please review with any comments, questions or advice. **


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